Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.

Psalm 51: 10-12, 16-17

Lent is always a solemn time, a period when we examine our hearts, repent of the sins we find there, and make small sacrifices that help us draw closer to the Lord. This year Lent is made even more solemn because of the fear and social isolation we are experiencing due to a tiny particle capabale of wreaking great havoc within our physical bodies. While I remain concerned about infection of my body, I am more concerned about infection in my spirit. Perhaps, like me, the uncertainty, the anxiety, the confusion, and the loneliness of these challenging times are slowly beginning to infect my spirit.

While there are some precautions we can take to limit our exposure to physical illnesses, we can’t guarantee we will remain free from physical infection. We can do much more, however, to combat spiritual infection. More accurately, we can turn to God for help in preventing those infections of the spirit from taking hold of us, and making our sickness contagious. God can purify us, renew us, and remain with us. He will restore us and sustain us, and help us to feel the joy of his salvation.  All he asks is that we come to Him, bring Him the broken pieces of our spirits and our hearts, and trust that He will make us whole again. He loves us too much to leave us in our broken pieces, but He can use those broken pieces to make us His masterpieces.

Lord, spending time with you is the best prevention we have for spiritual infection. Help us to seek you out long before those first symptoms take hold of us. Like David, we ask you to purify our hearts and renew our spirits with your steadfastness. Keep your Holy Spirit with us, Lord, and retore us and sustain us with the joy of our salvation- a gift from you. We bring our broken spirits and our contrite hearts to you, knowing you alone can make us whole. Thank you for all you have done and continue to do in our lives. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.