40 Days in the Desert: A Lenten Journey

What is Lent?

In the Christian liturgical calendar, Lent is a solemn religious observance that begins on Ash Wednesday and continues for 40 days, or approximately 6 weeks, ending just before Easter Sunday. It is a time of preparation for Easter, through prayer, fasting, doing penance, mortifying the flesh, repentance of sin, 

alms-giving, and self-denial. During Lent, many Christians commit to fasting as well as giving up certain luxuries in order to replicate the sacrifice of Jesus’ 40-day journey in the desert, when he was tempted by Satan. Many Christians also add a Lenten spiritual discipline, such as reading a daily devotional or praying through a Lenten calendar, to draw themselves near to God.

Why should I observe Lent?

While we are not part of a denomination that traditionally observes the season of Lent, it can be a wonderful spiritual practice to take 40 days to intentionally focus on spiritual disciplines, and meditate on the sacrifices of Christ. Choosing to fast, whether from food, tv, social media, or other forms of fasting can prove to be of great spiritual benefit, particularly if we take the time we would normally give to that activity, and spend it instead in prayer and Bible study, seeking in our time of sacrifice to draw close to the Christ who sacrificed His life for us.

This devotional is intended to guide you through focused readings and lessons to prepare your heart for Holy Week, when we remember the final week in the life of Christ before His death and resurrection, so that you can truly appreciate His great sacrifice made for you. It is meant to be read for six days in the week, with a break on Sunday. You can use this day to catch up, if for some reason you’ve fallen behind in your reading during the week.

I’ve included suggested songs to listen to that tie in to the heart of each day’s devotions. I’ve created a playlist on Spotify that you can listen to any time you want, or you can go online and try to find each day’s title as you spend time with God. It’s my prayer that the worship will enhance your spiritual journey through Lent. Here’s a link to my Spotify playlist: Spotify Playlist

Desert Seasons

We have all gone through seasons of spiritual dryness, what we might call a journey through a spiritual desert. If you’re anything like me, you just want to get through those times as quickly as possible and get out of there!  The desert is a scary place to be, full of dangers that can threaten our very lives!  But the desert can also be a place of savage beauty in its stark and barren landscape. I believe God has much to teach us during these desert travels.
 As we spend the next 40 days searching the Scriptures together, we are going to take a journey through the desert, seeking what lessons our Heavenly Father might have for us in the midst of these wilderness wanderings.