By Rena Tang
How are you feeling as you enter into Lent? Perhaps you’re ready for the journey or perhaps you’re already tired at the thought of entering into the desert. We are here to encourage you to press on to seek the Lord!
Lent is a privileged opportunity to begin again with God. We are helped by the Church’s traditions and practices to grow closer to the Lord through this time of spiritual renewal, to practise relying on His grace, especially in the face of our temptations, rather than on our own abilities or virtues.
He has already gone before us, let us place our faith in Him.
Jesus knew that His time in the desert was not going to be one of comfort (First Sunday of Lent, Mark 1:12-15). Yet, He followed the Spirit’s prompting with great faith. Jesus willingly entered the desert and faced the devil’s temptations so that He could set an example for us that by God’s grace we are able to conquer sin. Being fully God and yet also fully human, Jesus experienced everything that we do in our human condition except sin – hunger, fatigue, weariness, loneliness. He united Himself with us by entering this shared human experience. In Jesus’ temptations, He manifested His perfection within His human nature, and it is this perfection that we should aim to imitate as we face temptations in our lives. Remember that as you face these challenges, the Holy Spirit is accompanying you in every bit of your struggle. And you too can imitate the example of Jesus and rely on the power of the Holy Spirit.
This journey through the desert is not only a call to rely on God, but also a reminder of His unwavering faithfulness. We see this when Jesus was with the wild animals, and God sent angels to attend to Him. (Mark 1:13) It is this very same love and providence that God pours out on us in the wilderness of our lives. He takes care of our every need and walks with us on the journey.
How has the Lord shown His presence in your life?
For me, I know God is present through the people He places in my life. Through the conversations I have with my cell group, my community members, or with a friend. As they listen to my struggles, I take comfort in God’s presence in my life for I know He has sent them to walk with me and that I am not alone. The people who share in your lives, supporting and encouraging you, are just one of the ways that God can be present to you. When we begin to pay closer attention, to draw our focus back to Him, we can start to distinguish more of God’s movement in our lives.
This Lent, let us not be wanderers but pilgrims in the desert, for we know our purpose – to journey back to the Lord by placing our faith and hope in Him, knowing He is with us. Just as the Lord experienced the loving presence and providence of God right in the desert, we can be assured that we too will be met by grace!
Let us desire even more to make the Lord the One Thing Necessary!
Invitation to be Intentional
1. What is an area in my life where I struggle to rely on God? (E.g studies/career) What thing or habit is bringing me away from the Lord? (E.g scrolling social media for hours.)
2. What can trust in God look like in this area? (E.g dedicated quiet time) What habit can help me turn to the Lord rather than myself or other things? (E.g cutting back on screen time, and making time for family or healthy recreation.)
External Resources
Suffer The Detachment: Lent is Coming – Word on Fire
https://www.wordonfire.org/articles/suffer-the-detachment-lent-is-coming/
Thinking Faith: The Living Desert of Lent
https://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/living-desert-lent?mc_cid=c2187fea3c&mc_eid=d741bfabde
