Finding Hope for Your Dash
Have you ever heard the phrase, “Life is about the dash”? It refers to that small, horizontal mark on a gravestone between the day we are born and the day we die.
Squeezed between those two dates the dash punctuates a middle. A middle that God can make extraordinary as we return to Him with our ordinary. And that is what this season in the Christian calendar, Lent, is all about.
Lent begins with solemn Ash Wednesday and wearing ashes on our foreheads in the shape of the cross.
Wearing ashes on our foreheads reflects a biblical practice of putting ashes on one’s head, when a person is returning to God, or repenting. Jesus talked about this in Luke 10:13 and Matthew 11:21 and this ash-practice peppers the Bible, from Old Testament to New.
Wearing ashes in a cross shape reminds us Jesus offers us the ability to not just repent, but to be made new.
We can learn more about how we live the new, extraordinary “dash” that Jesus made possible from a close look at Jesus’ own days on earth.
Two people who saw the dash differently intersected with Jesus’ earthly ministry. The first is the Rich Young Ruler. He runs up to Jesus, kneels before Him and asks, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus instructs the man to follow all of God’s commandments. The man says he has! Then, “Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him.”
In His love for this man, Jesus saw what the man’s dash needed: “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me.”
This very wealthy man was holding tightly to his dash. It was a golden dash with filigree, and he liked it very much. He could not imagine liking anything more, not even inheriting eternal life. (Mark 10:17-29)
The next life that Jesus intersected was a widow’s (Mark 12:41-44). I love the idea of Him sitting on the ground next to the Temple collection box, just people-watching. Then she appears.
“Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins.”
Jesus could not let this moment pass. “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions,” he said. “For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.”
Now here is a woman who understands her dash.
Just like with the rich man, it was not about the money; it was about the heart. The rich man asked what he must do to receive eternal life. The widow asked for nothing and gave all.
Jesus gave all and empowered us to make our dash about giving that way, too.
This Lent, will you join me in asking God to bring our dashes even more into the new, extraordinary pattern of Christ’s life? Because Stonecroft is about ordinary people living with extraordinary purpose by connecting with God, each other, and our communities, will you “Lent” for others’ sake too?
How can we this Lent give our priorities to God, making this season even more focused on loving others toward that new, extraordinary dash that they too can celebrate, alongside, at Easter?
How to find hope for our dash? Let us ask God to illuminate our ordinary dash for His extraordinary purpose: to love others this Lent in deed and word toward new life we can celebrate together at Easter.
Discussion Questions
How can you understand the poor widow? When in have you given it all away, or seen someone you admire give it all? What happened?
Jesus encouraged people to put on the ashes of repentance. How might you ask God to show you what you may need to turn away from so you might turn more completely to Him, and share His love more enthusiastically and regularly, this season?
Prepare for Prayer
Read: 1 Peter 1:13
“So, prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.”
Pray: Dear Father, we praise You and thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, into the world to give us your hope. May we release control of our dashes and turn our focus onto Your gracious salvation.
Pray:
- Praise God for the hope that you have in Christ Jesus.
- Ask God to help you keep your focus on Jesus, the Hope-Giver, and not your dash.
Pray for Your Group’s Upcoming Outreach Event
Read: 1 Peter 3:15-16
“Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.”
Pray: Dear Lord, we pray that You would bless our upcoming event. As we work on all the details, help us remember that we are doing this so Your name would be known and that new women would connect to Christ, our Hope-Giver.
Pray:
- Ask God to send women who need connection into our paths, so that we might invite
them to our event. - Ask God that we would reach out and make lasting connections with the women at the
event.
Sharing Your Faith
Read: 1 Peter 1:3 NIV
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
Pray: Lord, as we enter into this Lenten season, we ask that not only would we turn our focus on You, but You would direct our eyes towards women who need to hear of the hope You give.
Pray for:
- Ask God to give you the courage to reach out to a woman He puts in your path and to
share about the hope you have in Jesus. - Ask God to work on the heart of someone you know needs His hope.
Pray for our Nation and Leaders
Read: Psalm 65:5
“You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds,
O God our savior.
You are the hope of everyone on earth,
even those who sail on distant seas.”
Pray: Dear Father, our world and our nation are in chaos. Give our leaders the wisdom and the courage to act promptly in a way that protects the innocent and brings peace to our world, especially we pray for peace between Russia and Ukraine. Soften the hearts of the oppressors and guard the lives of the civilians caught in conflict.
Pray specifically for:
- Our political leaders would cooperate with each other and the leaders of the world to
bring a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Ukraine. - Ukrainian and Russian church leaders would keep the faith and share hope and peace in a terrifying and hopeless time.
Pray for the Stonecroft Family
Read: 1 Thessalonians 1:3
“As we pray to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and the enduring hope you have because of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Pray: Dear God, thank you for Stonecroft and its leaders who desire to see women know you and grow in community. Bless them and their efforts as they strive to keep their dashes focused on You.
Pray for:
- Stonecroft leaders will keep their eyes on the purpose of their ministry.
- Stonecroft leaders will remember the hope that we have and be encouraged in their
work.
Share Personal Requests
Pray for one another’s prayer requests. Ask that we “hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise” (Hebrews 10:23).
Closing Prayer
Father, thank you for a community of women who love You and have their hope in Jesus. As we go through this season may we reflect on our dashes in light of Jesus, the Hope-Giver. Be our strong and trustworthy anchor of hope. In the name of Jesus, Amen.