Here is a devotion to start your day!
A spoken version of this devotion is available through the Still, Here audio reflections podcast.
Scripture: Luke 15:11–24
But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough to spare, and I’m dying with hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and will tell him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no more worthy to be called your son. Make me as one of your hired servants.”’
Reflection
The younger son’s story is one of deliberate rebellion. He demands his inheritance early, leaves home, and squanders everything in reckless living. When famine hits, he finds himself feeding pigs, aching with hunger. Then comes a crucial line: “He came to himself.”
Confession often begins here—not in a perfect understanding of theology, but in a moment of clarity. He realizes that even his father’s hired servants are better off than he is. He rehearses a speech: “I have sinned against heaven and in your sight… I am no more worthy to be called your son.” He plans to return not as a child, but as a servant.
But the father has been watching the road. When he sees his son “yet far off,” he runs, embraces him, and interrupts the confession with celebration. The son’s words of unworthiness are real, but they do not define the father’s response. The father restores his sonship before the feast even begins.
The season of Lent is a time for “coming to ourselves”—waking up in the pigsty moments of our lives and turning back toward home. Yet the heart of the story is not how well we repent, but how gladly the Father runs to us. Love in the wilderness is not reluctant; it is eager.
Today, let your coming home be less about your speech and more about His embrace.
A Prayer of Presence
Father,
I come to myself and to You. I acknowledge where I have wandered far from Your heart. Meet me on the road with Your running, Your arms, and the joy that calls me “child” again. – Amen
Practice for Today
Imagine the “far country” in your own life—an area where you’ve drifted in heart or habit. Picture yourself turning back toward God. What does His face look like as He sees you coming? Sit with that image.
Consider This...
Where have I settled for living like a hired servant instead of a beloved child—and what keeps me from trusting the Father’s embrace?
Carry This Prayer With You Today
Breathe in: I’m far away...
Breath out: ... but you call me home
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