Looking for a Lent devotional? In Quietness and Trust is a powerful choice

As I am not an Anglican or Catholic, rarely engage in liturgical worship, and don’t typically observe Lent, In Quietness and Trust by Matt Searles (10 Publishing) a devotional guide for the 40 days of Lent - would not usually be a book I’d pick up, let alone enthusiastically recommend to others.

But the differences in my church cultural experience fell away the moment I began reading. It’s structured around the Beatitudes our Lord gave every believer on the Sermon on the Mount, with eight groups of five devotions together with scriptures and prayer for each day. There are also suggested songs to aid in meditation, available on the Spotify playlist called ‘In Quietness & Trust – Lent Playlist’. Featuring brilliant songwriters like Andrew Peterson, Steph McLeod, and Jon Guerra, these selections are as deeply heart-penetrating as the devotional pieces themselves.

One devotion that particularly struck me dealt with the huge value to be found in confessing our sins to God and one another. Searles points out that we don’t confess our sins to beat ourselves up, or see ourselves as worthless. Rather, we confess our sins because of our great worth. We are children of God, but children who err and stray like lost sheep and so need to say sorry. As Searles writes: “[c]onfession of sin is not simply admitting that we can’t earn our way to God, it is also freeing ourselves of the burden of trying to.”

Through the skilful introduction of other scriptures, the devotional exposition never feels repetitive or predictable, avoiding the common tropes of many Lent books by making no reference to fasting. Instead, he ponders each of the Beatitudes with contemplative fluidity. For example, he highlights the truth that mourning is not a problem to be fixed but a vital part of the Christian life. Walking the way of Christ means weeping with those who weep and expressing our love for those we lose. Mourning sin, in turn, means not minimising it or distracting ourselves from it but taking the time to feel its stain and shame.

Elsewhere, Searles eloquently expounds the Beatitudes’ promise that the poor will be blessed. As he writes, it is: “not the powerful who are given a seat at the table but the weak; not the elite who are let in but the unworthy.”

Other devotionals offer illuminating insights on forgiveness, but Matt avoids the pitfalls of either flaccid sentimentality or hectoring legalism that some sermons and books on the topic unfortunately promote. Instead, he makes an important distinction: forgiveness is the refusal to fall into the traps of personal vengeance and harboring a bitter spirit. He emphasises that forgiveness does not mean institutions like the church, the police, or the state should refrain from taking action against wrongdoing. However, we must guard our own hearts. Just as we have received mercy from God, we should be prepared to extend mercy to others.

In another section of the book, Searles reflects on the divisions that exist in the world and, tragically, within the Church. He observes our natural tendency to separate into groups - “those who are like us” and “those who are different” or “those who are with us” and “those who are against us.” These divisions are evident in ethnicity, social background, gender, and mental ability, among many others. Whether intentional or not, we are all prone to favouritism. Reading and reflecting on this book has challenged me to confront some of my own wrong attitudes - particularly towards those who pray from a written prayer book versus those, like me, who extemporise prayer. And speaking of prayer, I must commend the author’s written offerings. One petition that particularly struck me was: “Deliver me from speaking too much and listening too little.”

Lent may be a time of sobering reflection, a season for seeing ourselves rightly. But we shouldn’t stop there. As Searles writes: “The purpose of seeing our sin is so we may delight in our Saviour. Christ was pierced and crushed, so we might know healing and peace. Christ was forsaken by his Father, so that we may be embraced with open arms. Christ went out of the city and away from God, so that we might be welcomed in. Christ took upon himself our sin, so that we might put on his robes of righteousness. Christ died so that we might live.”

This book skillfully guides us through the paradox of the Christian life that Jesus presents in the Beatitudes. I would recommend it to anyone willing to dedicate 40 days to deepening their understanding and experience of the Kingdom we now live in. While Lent is an ideal time for this spiritual journey, any 40-day period would be equally enriching.

In Quietness and Trust by Matt Searles (10 Publishing) is out now