LENT 2026:
ANGELS OF THE PASSION
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Devotions for Lent 2026
In the Transfiguration, the disciples were given a brief glimpse of Christ’s hidden glory. In this devotional journey, we step back and imagine what the story of Lent might look like from another vantage point — not from the valley, but from heaven’s view. The voice you will hear throughout these pages is a poetic and reverent meditation: an “angel’s view” of the Passion. At times the voice speaks as witness, at times as observer, and at times as one who sees what we cannot yet see. This is not new revelation, but reflection — a way of slowing down to behold Christ’s descent for us. As you read, listen for the steady theme: the Son of God decreasing in love so that we might be raised in glory.
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A Word from the Pastor
Lent is not a season of self-improvement. It is not a religious reset button or a forty-day test of discipline. Lent is a season of clarity.
On the mountain of Transfiguration, the glory of Christ was revealed. But the Church does not stay on the mountain. We descend with Him. We follow Him toward Jerusalem, toward suffering, toward the cross. And we do so not as spectators, but as those for whom He walks that road.
This devotional was written to slow that journey down.
The voice throughout these pages speaks from an imagined heavenly vantage point — an “angel’s view” of the Passion. The Scriptures tell us that angels long to look into these things. They are witnesses to the obedience of the Son, the silence before accusers, the weight of sin laid upon Him, and the victory won through suffering. By stepping briefly into that perspective, we are invited to see what we often rush past.
You may notice that the voice shifts subtly at times — sometimes observing from heaven, sometimes speaking more directly. That is intentional. Lent itself shifts. At times we stand at a distance. At times we are drawn painfully close. But always the center remains the same: Christ for you.
My prayer is that these devotions do not distract from Scripture, but drive you deeper into it. That they do not add to the cross, but help you linger there. That they do not replace the liturgy of the Church, but accompany it.
As we walk through Lent, Holy Week, and Easter together, may we see Jesus more clearly — not only in glory, but in humility; not only shining on the mountain, but descending in mercy.
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In Christ,
Pastor Greg Koepsell
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
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A PDF of all the devotions can be found here: Lent 2026
Days 1-10
Day 1 — Even Now (Ash Wednesday)
Opening Prayer
Merciful God, meet us honestly in our weakness, and gently call us home. Amen.
Joel 2:12–13 (ESV) “Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.
Devotion
From heaven, we have watched humanity turn away in every imaginable way. Some do it loudly, with defiance. Most do it quietly, with distraction. Hearts drift long before feet do. And still the Lord speaks: even now. Ashes tell the truth we spend much of our lives avoiding. You are not permanent.
You are fragile. You are not self-sustaining. “You are dust” is not an insult — it is a mercy. God names reality so you no longer have to pretend otherwise. The ashes are not placed randomly. They are traced in the shape of a cross for a reason. Even repentance is not yours alone.
Before you say a word, before you feel sincere enough, before you change anything at all, Christ’s cross is already pressed into your mortality. You do not repent toward uncertainty. You repent toward a Savior who has already gone ahead of you. What surprises us is not that people wander, but that God keeps calling.
He does not wait for conditions to improve. He does not demand proof of sincerity first. While hearts are still divided, while repentance is still incomplete, while resolve is still fragile, He says, return. We know where this road leads. We have already watched the Son walk it. Lent does not begin with your determination to do better.
It begins with God’s determination to save — a determination that will carry Him all the way to the cross. Even now, He calls you back.
Reflection
What truth about yourself do the ashes allow you to admit today?
What does it mean that the cross is already marked on you before you repent?
Closing Prayer
Gracious Father, keep us in repentance and faith, trusting Your mercy through Jesus Christ, who bore our sin and dust for us. Amen.
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Day 2 — Remember You Are Dust
Opening Prayer
Lord God, teach us to face the truth about ourselves without fear, and to trust You with what we are. Amen.
Genesis 3:19 (ESV) “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
Devotion
From heaven, we remember the moment dust first received breath. We also remember the moment fear entered it. These words were spoken after the fall, but they are not spoken with cruelty. They are spoken with honesty. “You are dust” names what every human body eventually learns. Strength fades.
Control slips. Even the best intentions cannot stop time. We spend much of our lives resisting this truth — numbing it, disguising it, or denying it — because dust feels like loss. Yet God does not abandon the dust He formed. He does not recoil from it. He stays near it. He clothes it.
He continues to speak to it. Mortality is not the end of God’s involvement; it is the place where His mercy draws close. We know something Adam could not yet see. The Son will one day kneel in dust Himself. He will take a body that aches, bleeds, and dies. He will allow dust to cling to His skin and enter His wounds.
And He will not despise it. Dust will meet dust in the grave — and then rise. Because Christ has shared your dust, your mortality is no longer a sentence without hope. It is the place where resurrection will begin.
Reflection
What fears surface when you remember that you are dust?
How does Christ’s willingness to share your mortality change the way you face those fears?
Closing Prayer
Creator and Redeemer, hold us in hope through Jesus Christ, who took our dust upon Himself and will raise it in glory. Amen.
Day 3 — Led into the Wilderness
Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus, walk with us when the path leads through loneliness and testing. Amen.
Matthew 4:1–2 (ESV) Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
Devotion
From heaven, we watched Him go willingly. No crowd followed. No voice explained. The Spirit who descended at His baptism now leads Him into silence. The wilderness is not an accident. It is not punishment. It is preparation. The Son enters hunger without complaint. He allows weakness to press in.
The emptiness is real. The quiet is heavy. This is not a performance of strength; it is an act of obedience. He stands where Israel once stood. He stands where Adam once fell. He stands where every human heart eventually finds itself — stripped of distractions, left with trust alone.
We know how tempting shortcuts can be. Relief offered without obedience. Power offered without suffering. The wilderness reveals what the heart reaches for when nothing else remains. Jesus reaches for the Word of His Father. This is where the road to the cross truly begins. Not with nails or crowds, but with hunger freely accepted.
The Son chooses faithfulness when no one is watching, so that when the weight of the world is placed upon Him, He will not turn away.
Reflection
Where does life feel like a wilderness for you right now?
What does it mean that Jesus entered that place before you did?
Closing Prayer
Faithful Savior, strengthen us in times of testing, and keep us trusting the Word of the Father as You did. Amen.
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Day 4 — Bread Alone Is Not Enough
Opening Prayer
Lord God, teach us to trust Your Word when our hunger feels urgent and our patience thin. Amen.
Matthew 4:3–4 (ESV) And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Devotion
From heaven, we recognize this temptation immediately. It is subtle, reasonable, and urgent. Hunger is real. Relief is possible. Power is available.
Why wait?
Why suffer?
Why not turn stones into bread and solve the problem now?
The Son does not deny His hunger. He does not pretend the need is imaginary. What He refuses is the shortcut. Life, He knows, cannot be sustained by satisfaction alone. Bread fills the stomach, but it cannot carry a soul. Relief without trust only deepens the ache. We have watched humanity reach for stones again and again — grasping what promises quick comfort, demanding immediate answers, settling for what quiets the pain instead of what heals it. The Son chooses differently. He trusts the Word spoken by His Father, even when His body is empty. There will come a day when this same Son offers bread freely — His own body, given for the life of the world. But that gift will not come through self-preservation. It will come through obedience. He will wait. He will trust. He will give Himself completely.
Reflection
What do you reach for when you feel depleted or impatient?
Where might God be inviting you to trust His Word instead of a shortcut?
Closing Prayer
Bread of Life, sustain us by Your Word and teach us to trust You even when our hunger feels loud. Amen.
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Day 5 — Tested, Yet Faithful
Opening Prayer
Compassionate Savior, draw near to us in our weakness and steady us with Your mercy. Amen.
Hebrews 4:15 (ESV) For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Devotion
From heaven, we know the weight of this claim. The Son does not observe temptation from a distance. He does not analyze weakness from safety. He enters it fully — hunger, isolation, pressure, and fear pressing in from every side. There is comfort here that should not be rushed past.
Jesus does not save from afar. He saves from within. Every place you feel pulled apart by desire, fear, or exhaustion is a place He has already stood. He knows how heavy temptation feels before a single word is spoken. Yet He does not collapse under it. Faithfulness holds. Not because temptation is easy for Him, but because trust is complete.
He clings to the Father’s will when every other option whispers relief. This matters more than we often realize. Because He stands, grace stands for you. Because He resists, mercy remains available. When you fail — and you will — you do not fall into condemnation. You fall into the care of a High Priest who understands exactly how hard faithfulness can be.
Reflection
Where do you feel temptation pressing most strongly right now?
How does knowing Christ understands that struggle change the way you bring it to God?
Closing Prayer
Faithful High Priest, hold us fast in Your mercy when we are weak, and remind us that You stand with us in every struggle. Amen.
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Day 6 — Repent and Believe
Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus, turn our hearts toward Your kingdom and anchor us in Your good news. Amen.
Mark 1:15 (ESV) “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Devotion
From heaven, we know how easily repentance is misunderstood. Below, it often sounds like accusation or threat — as if God is finally fed up and demanding improvement. But when the Son speaks these words, His tone is not condemnation. It is invitation. The kingdom is not approaching because people have become worthy.
It is near because God has decided to act. Repentance is not a prerequisite that earns entry. It is the turning that happens when mercy comes close. We have watched sinners hear this call and weep — not because they are crushed, but because they are relieved. The weight they have carried in secret is finally named, and forgiveness stands within reach.
The Son does not ask them to fix themselves first. He asks them to trust Him. Repentance, then, is not despair. It is hope telling the truth. It is the courage to turn away from what cannot save and toward the One who already has.
Reflection
What do you usually associate with the word “repent”?
How does Jesus’ invitation reshape what repentance means for you today?
Closing Prayer
Bring us into Your kingdom, Lord Jesus. Turn our hearts toward You and keep us trusting Your gospel of mercy. Amen.
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Day 7 — Rest for the Weary
Opening Prayer
Gentle Savior, give rest to our souls when we are worn thin and weighed down. Amen.
Matthew 11:28–30 (ESV) “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Devotion
From heaven, we see the burdens people carry long before they are spoken aloud. Guilt that never quiets. Fear that never loosens its grip. Expectations that crush instead of guide. Many keep moving simply because stopping feels too dangerous. The Son does not demand endurance. He invites rest.
Not escape from responsibility, but relief from the weight that was never meant to be carried alone. His yoke does not remove struggle; it reorders it. You no longer pull by yourself. We know where this gentleness will lead Him. The One who promises rest will soon be burdened with the weight of the world’s sin.
He will carry what exhausts you so that you may finally breathe. This rest is not earned by collapse or achievement. It is received — quietly, humbly — by coming to Him.
Reflection
What burden feels heaviest for you right now?
What might it look like to place that weight onto Christ instead of carrying it alone?
Closing Prayer
Give us Your rest, Lord Jesus. Teach us to trust Your gentleness and to walk with You each day. Amen.
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Day 8 — Hidden Glory
Opening Prayer
Lord God, reveal Your goodness to us in ways we can bear, and teach us to trust what we cannot yet see. Amen.
Exodus 33:18–20 (ESV) Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you… But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.”
Devotion
From heaven, we remember this moment well. Moses asks for glory, and God answers with mercy. Not full exposure. Not overwhelming power. God hides His face and lets goodness pass by instead. Glory, we have learned, is not always bright or obvious. It is often hidden — especially when God is at work saving.
The Son carries this same pattern forward. He does not display majesty in a way that crushes fragile faith. He veils it in humility. Soon, His glory will be hidden almost completely. The cross will not look like goodness passing by. It will look like abandonment. Yet heaven knows what earth cannot yet see: this hidden suffering will reveal the deepest goodness of God.
You are not asked to recognize glory by sight alone. You are invited to trust it by faith — even when it passes quietly, even when it is veiled.
Reflection
Where do you wish God would show His power more clearly?
How does Christ teach you to recognize God’s goodness even when it is hidden?
Closing Prayer
Reveal Your goodness to us, Lord, and strengthen our trust when Your glory is veiled from sight. Amen.
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Day 9 — A New Heart Promised
Opening Prayer
Renew us, Lord, where we have grown hard or afraid. Amen.
Ezekiel 36:26 (ESV) “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”
Devotion
From heaven, we recognize the weight of this promise. Stone hearts do not feel easily. They protect, endure, and survive — but they cannot love freely. They cannot trust deeply. They cannot heal themselves. God does not offer to repair the stone. He promises to replace it. This is not self-improvement.
It is resurrection language. Something dead and unresponsive must be removed so that something living can take its place. We know how this will happen. The Son will allow His own heart to be pierced. Flesh will be wounded so that hearts of flesh may be given. Renewal will not come cheaply.
It will come through blood and obedience. This promise is not conditional on your readiness. It rests on God’s faithfulness. He gives what you cannot produce — and He keeps what He gives alive.
Reflection
Where do you notice hardness or numbness in your heart?
How does God’s promise to give you a new heart bring hope?
Closing Prayer
Create in us new hearts, O God, and renew us by Your Spirit through Jesus Christ. Amen.
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Day 10 — Steadfast Love
Opening Prayer
Merciful Lord, remind us of the reach and depth of Your forgiveness. Amen.
Psalm 103:8–12 (ESV) “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love… as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”
Devotion
From heaven, we have watched mercy stretch farther than memory. Sin repeats itself with frustrating consistency. Grace does not grow tired in response. The psalm speaks truth people below often struggle to believe: forgiveness is not partial. It is not tentative. God does not keep sins nearby for later use.
He removes them completely — farther than the eye can follow. We know the cost of this removal. Sin does not disappear into nothingness. It is carried. The Son will bear what is taken away from you. The distance created between you and your sin will be measured by the length of the crossbeam stretched wide.
This steadfast love does not excuse sin. It defeats it.
Reflection
What sins feel hardest to believe are truly forgiven?
How does the image of God removing them help you trust His mercy?
Closing Prayer
Keep us resting in Your steadfast love, O Lord, confident in the forgiveness won for us in Christ. Amen.
