Friends, today’s readings give us one of the most hopeful messages of the entire Lenten season.
In Isaiah, God says, “I am about to create new heavens and a new earth.” Not repair. Not patch. Create. God is promising a future so full of joy that the old sorrows will fade away. This is the heart of Lent: God is not just trying to make us slightly better versions of ourselves. God is trying to make us new.
Psalm 30 echoes this promise: “You have turned my mourning into dancing.” The psalmist remembers a time when life felt like a pit—and how God lifted him out. Lent invites us to remember the same: the moments when God carried us, rescued us, or gave us strength we didn’t know we had.
And then we come to the Gospel. A royal official comes to Jesus desperate—his son is dying. Jesus simply says, “Go; your son will live.” And here’s the remarkable part:
the man believes before he sees.
He walks home trusting that Jesus’ word is already at work.
That is Lent.
Walking in faith before we see the results.
Trusting that God is already healing, already renewing, already creating something new within us.
We all have places in our lives where we’re waiting for God to act.
Maybe it’s a relationship that needs healing.
Maybe it’s a child or family member we’re worried about.
Maybe it’s a habit or fear we’ve carried for years.
Maybe it’s a part of our heart that feels tired or discouraged.
Like the royal official, we come to Jesus and say, “Lord, please—do something.”
And Jesus says to us, “Go. I am already working. Trust me.”
Lent is not about seeing instant results.
It’s about taking the next step in faith, believing that God’s grace is already moving beneath the surface.
So today, let’s ask for the grace to trust God’s word the way the royal official did.
To believe that God is creating something new in us—even if we can’t see it yet.
And to walk forward with the quiet confidence that Easter joy is already rising within us.
Amen.