March 20, 2026 // Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s First Reading: Wisdom 2:1a, 12-22
Reflect on the Word //
The First Reading today sounds more like a recent description of high school drama, political division, or online banter than ancient Scripture. It is a familiar decree of division and a call to arms for evil, to attack those who are living a different life, aloof from the path of the wicked.
Evil abounds. Once your eyes are opened to it, you cannot help but see its influence each and every day. A young woman told me recently that she puts up little invisible barriers daily. Keeping her guard up and her eyes open prevents cruel words or insults from affecting her. She knows that the evil said and done around her cannot hurt her—unless she allows it. It is exhausting to be sure, but she remains vigilant, because when she doesn’t, it is too easy to collapse under the lies and attacks of others.
She is like the “just one” we read about today in the book of Wisdom, being beset by the wicked. Many of us are trying to live as a child of the Lord, living a life that is not like that of others—different are our ways. Our patience and gentleness is being tested by the wicked who have rejected God’s counsel. But knowledge and “the hidden counsels of God” (Wisdom 2:22) as we submit to the Holy Spirit will guide us from the assault. With the insight from today’s First Reading, we can recognize that our spiritual fortifications are strengthened by God’s grace, and we are able to continue to live in truth and light. This takes time and intentionality in daily prayer to discern the best way to live as a child of the Lord.
How often are your gentleness and patience tested in the face of cruel words or insults? How we respond to those seeking to upset us is a true test. And it is a test we prepare for by remaining vigilant. The more we understand about the reality of the spiritual battles around us, the easier it is to understand the hidden counsels of God which guide and protect us.
Relate to the Lord // Ask for the intercession of Saint Michael the Archangel today as you face your spiritual battles. Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle . . .
Dr. Mary Ruth Hackett is a writer, national speaker, and podcast host covering topics in psychology and faith. She holds a PhD in Educational Psychology and works at the important intersection of faith and developmental science, blending them in the original harmony God intended. Dr. Mary Ruth is the author of Daughter by Design: Discovering Your Identity as God's Beloved Daughter, and co-coauthor of Spiritual Discernment for Beginners: Learning to Hear God and Defeat the Lies of the Enemy. She is a contributing author to All She Had and our children’s devotional prayer book called Rise Up. Find out more about her here.
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