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The Christian season of Lent can be such a blessing, but it isn’t what the world thinks of as fun. Let’s give things up! Let’s go to church more! Let’s think about the suffering and death of our Savior! Not exactly the kinds of things pushed by Hollywood or advertisers as desirable ways to spend our time and energy.
Lent is one of the most radically countercultural things the church does, and that’s exactly why it’s so important.
This season is not easy. Its disciplines — repentance and prayer, fasting and charity — they don’t come naturally to most of us. We like our comforts, so it’s tough to give things up. And our lives are pretty full already, so it’s tough to add things in.
But perhaps you’ve noticed that life is not always easy in general.
Every single one of us faces struggles and suffering, and sometimes it’s more than we can handle on our own. Thankfully, we have a God who handles it all with us and for us.
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4). Notice that the psalmist doesn’t claim to be unafraid based on his own strength. It is God who comforts and sustains us.
This season is a good time to acknowledge that things are not always okay. Life has ups and downs and sometimes it’s really tough. We can’t always put on a happy face and cheerfully say “Fine!” when someone asks us how we are.
This season is when we can drop our masks. We can face our own sinfulness, our own weakness, our own dependence.
Then we can be set free to receive forgiveness, strength, and help from the One who never expected us to make it on our own anyway.
Lent is one of the many ways in which the church equips us to weather the storms that inevitably come along.
When we have faced our Lord’s suffering with him, we can confidently face our own suffering, knowing that he bears it with us and for us. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).
