2026 Daily Lenten Journey Day 30 – Our Bodies Honor God
Today I want to continue the theme of renouncing the world. I was struck today by the opening verses of Isaiah today. He reminds us how idols were created using only the best wood and best gold. Ancient pagans honored their gods with only the best ‘skin’ for their idols.
Our God, the True God, is above all and looks down from heaven. He looks down on us “like grasshoppers”. That is how ‘far above us’ He lives. What ‘skin’ did He choose to give us? He chose to take our human flesh as His skin. Jesus Christ is greater than any idol.
We know how great Jesus Christ is. Have you considered that your skin, your body, is made of the same ‘stuff’ that He used for His sacred body? That makes the human body greater than any wood and greater than any gold. That makes our bodies precious in the sight of God.
Thus says the LORD: To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him? The idol! a workman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold, and casts for it silver chains. He who is impoverished chooses for an offering wood that will not rot; he seeks out a skilful craftsman to set up an image that will not move. Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; who brings princes to nought, and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing. Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows upon them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? Says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hid from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God”? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary, his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. – Isaiah 40.18-31
After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Behold, thou hast given me no offspring; and a slave born in my house will be my heir.” And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, “This man shall not be your heir; your own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” And he believed the LORD; and he reckoned it to him as righteousness. And he said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess.” But he said, “O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a she-goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” And he brought him all these, cut them in two, and laid each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. And when birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away. As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram; and lo, a dread and great darkness fell upon him. Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know of a surety that your descendants will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs, and will be slaves there, and they will be oppressed for four hundred years; but I will bring judgment on the nation which they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. As for yourself, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. – Genesis 15.1-15
The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so the minds of fools. The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is his delight. The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but he loves him who pursues righteousness. There is severe discipline for him who forsakes the way; he who hates reproof will die. Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD, how much more the hearts of men! A scoffer does not like to be reproved; he will not go to the wise. A glad heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is broken. The mind of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouths of fools feed on folly. All the days of the afflicted are evil, but a cheerful heart has a continual feast. Better is a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble with it. Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fatted ox and hatred with it. A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention. The way of a sluggard is overgrown with thorns, but the path of the upright is a level highway. – Proverbs 15.7-19
Whether it is Abram who questioned God’s power to provide him with descendants in his old age, or any number of our ancestors. Each human being is sacred to God, if only because we share the same flesh that He has.
That should resonate with you today. As you fast, as you pray, as you interact with other human beings that need your help, remember this. Our bodies honor God. Shouldn’t we at least treat them as such? Shouldn’t we at least honor our bodies more than golden idols?
My thoughts today are not meant to make you feel guilty for your past sins. All sins can be forgiven by God if we ask Him. My goal today is to inspire you to change the way you think of your body, for the glory of God.
Instead of thinking of your body as ‘your body’ so you can what you please, start thinking of your body as ‘the same stuff’ as God’s body. Maybe then our fasting will make sense. Maybe then we will think twice before we desecrate our bodies again.
Our bodies are how we live in the world. It is our physical connection to the earth. Now, maybe we can better understand our bodies connect us to God more than they connect us to the earth. We will leave the earth behind. We will receive our resurrection bodies back again.
Spend today thinking of ways you can honor God with your body. Maybe you do a few extra prostrations today, using your body to worship God. Your body definitely is part of your fasting, but maybe today’s fasting will have a different affect on your heart. Just a few things to think about.
If our Daily Lenten Journey has been a blessing to you this year, please consider making a safe online donation today and help up reach our fundraising goal.
