Lent Day 3
For the past few years, the thing that I find I need less of is news.
News is not a bad thing on its own. It provides information to help me understand my world. It can help me in loving people better by knowing what impacts them. It tells me how my favourite F1 teams are doing.
But more and more, news has become something harmful to me. It's changing what I see in the mirror.
Our news report the chaos and reality of sin in our world. Every day, it proves sin does not discriminate in its infection—sin is ingrained in every level of our existence.
But it is not just the news headlines itself. Today, we are also being forced to digest the reactions of our newsfeeds. Our social media accounts are saturated with reactions and responses from friends, families, coworkers, and social media personalities. More often than not, these responses are full of emotions, especially heavy ones that stick, such as helplessness and anger.
When I look into the mirror, I see the weight of the world's emotions crushing me. I am barely in the reflection anymore.
Some might say this is foolish, "You should not care so much what others feel and think." And my answer to them is, "You can take that up with God, because that's how He made me." It is what I have to work with and work through. It is my struggle and the source of my anxiety.
Maybe some of you can relate. You know you should not be bothered by what others think and feel or by the latest sensational headlines. Yet, you are. It bothers you deeply, and it is hard to express it to others. You feel weak and, maybe, overly sensitive.
I believe it is vital to acknowledge our struggles, not just what they are but also the enormity of their impact on us. Sometimes, we try to minimize our emotions because others might not think it is a big deal, but God is not looking at us through other people's eyes. His eyes are looking directly at our hearts, and He knows what is hurting us; what burdens we are not meant to carry.
He knows where we need His grace.
This lent season, I am giving up my newsfeeds, which include Facebook, X and Feedly. You can say they are my source of weakness and helplessness.
And my prayer is that as I give up these things, I will grow in my trust in God to act and care for our world, our governments, our communities, and the church in spite of what I know or don't know.
"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner."
8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Cor. 12:8-10
