Day 7 of Lent: March 11, 2025

Lenten Devotional:From Ashes to Alleluia—God’s Deliverance in the Wilderness

Scripture: Acts 7:30-34

"Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush. When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he approached to look, there came the voice of the Lord: ‘I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses began to tremble and did not dare to look. Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. I have surely seen the mistreatment of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them. Come now, I will send you to Egypt.’”

Reflection

Stephen, standing before the Sanhedrin the great body of Jewish elite scribes and priests, was speaking to men who prided themselves on their knowledge of Moses and the Law. Yet, Stephen’s words pointed to a painful truth: time and again, God’s people had resisted His chosen messengers. They revered Moses in name but had forgotten the deeper lesson of his story—God calls, God redeems, and God delivers. And now, they were rejecting the greatest Deliverer of all, Jesus Christ.

As we walk the Lenten road, we too stand in the wilderness. Lent reminds us of our own need for deliverance, not just from external struggles but from the sin, fear, and doubt that bind us. Like Moses, we may feel exiled, wandering in a barren land, wondering if God still sees, still hears, still acts.

Yet in the midst of wilderness, God speaks. The burning bush was not just a sign of divine presence—it was a call to action, a reminder that God’s deliverance was already unfolding. Moses’ time of exile was not the end of his story, just as the suffering of Lent is not the end of ours. The cross is not the final word. The empty tomb awaits.

The Sanhedrin rejected Stephen’s message, just as they had rejected Jesus. But Stephen saw something they could not—the glory of God breaking into the present, the promise of resurrection even in the face of death.

We, too, are invited to see beyond the ashes. God still speaks in the wilderness, still calls us to trust in our Lord’s deliverance. The season of Lent reminds us that even in suffering, God is preparing something new.

Where do you hear God calling? Where do you need to trust that the exile will not last forever? Where is your burning bush, reminding you that God sees, God hears, and God will act?

Lent calls us to strip away distractions, to stand barefoot before the holy, to listen for the voice of the One who says, "Come now, I will send you." The journey is not over. Resurrection is coming. From the ashes, alleluia will rise.

Prayer

Holy God, in the wilderness, You see. In the suffering, You hear. In our wandering, You call us by name. As we walk this Lenten path, help us trust that You are leading us toward deliverance. Give us courage to stand in the fire of Your presence, to listen, and to follow. May we move from ashes to alleluia, believing that resurrection is on the horizon. In Jesus’ name, Amen.