LENT: 40 Days or a Lifetime!

The Lent season began with Ash Wednesday and will end Resurrection Sunday (ie. Easter, Passover),  40 days, not including Sundays, when Christians prepare ourselves in various ways to really appreciate what Christ Jesus did for us when He died on the cross for our sins and then was resurrected by the Father. 

We do our observance in whichever way we are led by the Holy Spirit for 40 days, because "...Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry." (Luke 4:1-2)

Many people choose to fast, to give up something for the 40 days, usually food related. That is good, as long as it's done as Jesus taught, “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly." (Matthew 6:16-18)

However, fasting doesn't have to be giving up food because most of us will go back to eating what we gave up after the 40 days are over. Fasting for Lent can and should be a time when we really examine our relationship with God and our lives, and determine what things we need to work towards giving up for a lifetime. 

Food or certain foods may be one of the things we need to work on giving up in order to promote better health and wellbeing going forward. But, maybe we need to focus on more pressing character issues as well, such as self-love and forgiveness, letting go of guilt and shame, being more charitable, and on and on. There is no right or wrong way to observe Lent.

We must study the Word of God and allow His Holy Spirit to convict us what changes we can and should make, because "...He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:" (John 16:8) We can begin with Lent and continue throughout our lifetime. A good place to start is to follow God's example of love, grace and mercy - let's be motivated by LOVE to DO and GIVE!

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)