What are you doing for Lent?

I felt a conviction this year to dive deeper into the meaning of Lent and why it is something we do as Christians.

Let me start by saying something my dad has always said to me is, “knowledge is power.” I believe the enemy wanted to keep me away from understanding why we participate in Lent.

Lent is not mentioned in the Bible. However, it is something that we do as Christians to grow closer to God and have a greater understanding of what Jesus did for 40 days in the wilderness.

Lent Begins 40 days before resurrection Sunday on Ash Wednesday. These 40 days represent the time Jesus spent in the wilderness fasting. During this time Satan made an appearance. He tried to tempt Jesus when he thought Jesus was at his weakest. What he didn’t know is that Jesus was at his strongest. Jesus had be fasting which allowed him to rely fully on God. This put Jesus at his prime (I mean we all know Jesus is always at his prime, but you get what I’m saying). So satan tried three times to get Jesus to sin, and Jesus shut Satan down each time with no hesitation.

Jesus was equipped and ready.

When I think of this story and the 40 days of fully committing himself to God in prayer, I am in admiration of the strength and dedication that Jesus had. As a Christian my mission is to be more like Christ. Learning of his strength and his knowledge nudged me to be more intentional with Lent this year.

This year, I not only want to give up things that are distracting me, I want to open my heart to let more of God in. I am also prepared to fight the enemy for these 40 days. If he had enough ‘you know what’ to tempt Jesus, then that means I look like slight work to him. What he doesn’t know is that I am beyond a tough cookie to crack. I know that this year Lent is looking different. I know that I am diving in and ready to work for the Kingdom.

During my weekly group, I asked the girls what they were giving up or fasting. Yal wanna know something? The majority of them didn’t even realize Lent was approaching. Some of us even admitted that we hadn’t acknowledged Lent for a few years. Of course that’s what the enemy has been wanting. Why would he want us to grow closer to God? Humble ourselves? Allow ourselves to be vulnerable? He’s such a quiet bully. That’s when I knew I needed to share what God had put on my heart about learning more about Lent. We had church at my house, lol!

The Spirit was moving, and we were convicted.

I challenged them to pray on what God wanted them to either give up or begin doing. Hearing from God aligns your will with His will. & That is our ultimate goal as Christians.

What better time to begin alignment than during these 40 days?

I challenge you to ask God to search the depths of your heart to see what is missing. To see where your life needs a shift to be aligned with Him. Don’t be afraid of the answer. When you hear it, apply it to your life.

Watch God move mountains that you didn’t even know where there.

Gods Love and Mine,

Carrie