Intimacy in the Wilderness: Lent
What are you giving up for Lent? This age-old question smacks of superficiality for most of us. But opening oneself up to a deeper journey of intimacy with God, like Jesus experienced in the wilderness, often does result in some kind of fasting for us like it did for Him (Luke 4). But why are we fasting?
After watching a video recording with Ruth Haley Barton (Transformingcenter.org), I realized “hiddenness” is a spiritual practice that would best facilitate my Lenten practices this year. We see this encouraged by Jesus in Matthew 6 in the areas of piety, fasting, giving and prayer. I knew the answer before I asked myself the question, “Where do I feel most distracted in my listening and aligning myself with God?” It’s my use of technology that most often leads me in too many time wasting, distracted ways. It also subtly “tempts” me in the ways of self-importance and relevancy, often with the good motive of ministry.
Therefore, I plan to take a social media break until Easter weekend. So if you need to reach me, please do so via email or text. I won’t be checking or posting online for 40 days. I have a feeling this will be harder than giving up sugar but needed just as much!!
We all long for intimate times with the ones with love. Already I can hear God calling me to a new season of intimacy with Him, a season of preparation for upcoming ministry opportunities and preparing me for an upcoming move to a new neighborhood.
If you’d like to find out more about Lent and listen to one podcast on the subject, go to Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership with Ruth Haley Barton (Preparing for Lent episode). She has other resources available there too. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/strengthening-soul-your-leadership-ruth-haley-barton/id1214483830?i=1000645298526
Fellow sojourner, I pray you answer whatever call God places on your heart in this Lent season.
“Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and I will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will respond as in the days of her youth…” Hosea 2:14
