Be Led by Love into Love: Following Jesus into Lent

And suddenly we find ourselves at the doorstep of Lent, a season with many feelings associated with it. Perhaps you are feeling overwhelmed entering this season, still without a Lenten plan, feeling like you are already scrambling in all other areas of life. Or perhaps you are feeling prepared, excited, and hopeful for what the Lord has been stirring in your heart, ready to engage with the disciplines or practices you have committed to. Wherever you find yourself, I want to offer you 3 simple points of reflection as we enter these 40 days in the desert with our beloved Jesus.

1. Follow Jesus into the desert, don’t lead yourself.

   
   

It is easy to focus on our own efforts, to examine our lives and create a sort of baptized self-help plan to accomplish growth in this time. This is not the point of Lent. It is not a time to muster up our own strength (which in reality, we have very little of) and plan to transform our lives in 5 simple steps. In Scripture, it speaks of how Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, was led into the desert. Even Jesus was led there, and He was led by the Spirit, the Spirit of Love.

So rather than grabbing a pen and notepad and creating your own game plan, I invite you spend time first listening. Let yourself rest in that same Spirit that filled Jesus, and then be led by Him into this desert. Ask the Lord what is impeding your heart in this season of life, what you have made an idol, what you have become too attached to in place of Him and His love; and then listen and be aware of what stirs in your heart, what gently rises to the surface. The Lord’s ways are ways of peace, and even when he convicts and admonishes His children, He does so gently. Anything that is accusatory or condemning is not the voice of the Lord.

2. Let it all be for love.

As we solidify our Lenten plans, as we are listening to the Lord and becoming aware of the needs of our hearts, we must not lose sight of it all being for love. When we find ourselves struggling to keep our commitments, when we feel the sting of sacrifice and self-denial, the point is not to muscle through the pain like a heavy lift. The point is to unite ourselves to Jesus, to look at Him crucified, to let the aches or stings carve our hearts out more deeply, to find rest, so to speak, in it all in Jesus. The point is love and union, and as we feel the difficulty of our Lenten commitments, let us look at Jesus’ Face and simply say, “I love you, Jesus”. Lent isn’t about the thing we’re doing, it is about love, and growing in love.

3. A simple examination of the heart.

   
   

Lastly, here are a few question to guide your examination and prayer with the Lord. I invite you to take these, sit with them in a quiet space, invite the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart however He desires, and then slowly ask yourself each question, pausing to reflect and listen before moving to the next. If any of these are overwhelming or don’t feel like they apply, there is no need to force something that the Lord is not doing there so feel free to move through as needed to follow the voice of the Lord in this.

- Is my heart filled with unnecessary noise and distraction from God’s presence? Is it difficult to pray in silence and stay still, to recollect myself in the presence of God during the day, to be truly present to those in my life?

Lord, what in my life is filling me with noise and distraction?

What are ways I can cultivate greater silence, stillness, and recollection both in my prayer and daily life and routine?

- Are there comforts and little habits in my life that I feel like I need or can’t let go of? Whether it is food, certain hobbies, unnecessary purchases, coffee orders, etc., is my heart attached to things in such a way that it is filling a space that God wants to enter instead? Has it made these things an idol, depending on them for comfort, security, and a sense of belonging instead of Jesus?

Lord, bring to the surface the things in my life that I am clinging to instead of You. Show me what I have attached myself to instead of letting myself be filled by You.

What are ways I can detach my heart from the excess and superfluity I have made normal in my life? How can I embrace greater “poverty” and simplicity so the Lord may satisfy me Himself?

- Am I generous with my time and my gifts in my family and community? Have I become isolated, or self-protective, perhaps selfish with my time and comfort, and ceased to truly give myself and belong to others?

Lord, please show me where I have closed myself off from others. Please reveal to me how you are calling me to give of myself for deeply and authentically and thus live in your own Life of Love through grace.

What are ways I can let go of my self-preservation, comfort, or isolation to be more generous and loving to those around me in a way that is fitting to my state in life?

I pray these simple questions bless you in your walk with Jesus. He is worth all of our hearts, and He desires all of our hearts. Let us return to Him with our whole hearts, repent of our sinfulness and weaknesses that make us turn to things instead of Him, and receive more of His life and love.

Follow along for more reflections as we move through Lent together.