Ashes and Fasting

(Originally Posted March 6th 2018)

Even though I’ve known about Lent for most of my life, actively engaging in it is relatively new to me. I know I’ve had seasons where I’ve given something up in the 40 days leading up to Easter, but this year has felt different. Maybe it’s the weight of the sin and loss ever before us on a global scale as well as in our own neighborhoods. Maybe it’s the little voices in my home asking questions about Jesus, God’s goodness and hard things. Maybe it’s the whisper welling up from my soul saying “this is not good for you,” and knowing there is much inside me that needs to die so that there is more space to be filled with the Spirit.

I don’t know where you are this Ash Wednesday. There is so much pressure that surrounds this sort of thing these days. I think we’ve got to make the choice to quiet our hearts before the Lord even if we are still moving through our full seasons, and ask God to reveal something that is a barrier in our lives. Not a barrier to what we feel should be in our days, but a barrier that is breaking our fellowship with Him.

Fasting for Lent may not look like giving up something like sugar or how you spend your money, maybe it is fasting from your doubt. Maybe it’s choosing to engage a conversation you have been running from and starving your fear. Maybe it’s a commitment to face the hard things and wrestle with the Lord, and instead of ignoring the pain, pursuing the healing. During a time that’s designed to remind us of who we were without Him and to point us to the life He gave so we could live with Him forever, I think an offering of a willing heart, no matter what state it’s in, will be tended to by the Father.

No question is too hard for Him, but how will we ask the questions if we’re pushing it down with distractions? No hurt is too deep for Him to redeem, but how will we heal if we continue to harm ourselves by simply coping? I’m with you in this journey, Dear One. I know that the Lord is practically shoving Himself into hidden spaces of my attempts to comfort myself and control my life. Nothing is too hard for Him. You are not too much for Him. If you don’t even know where to begin, I’ve made a playlist for our hearts in an attempt to get quiet on the inside. You can find it here.

He does not want to keep you from your life, He wants to lead you into the life you were made for. It is worth the risk. He is worthy.