Lent is our opportunity

"Now Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He was hungry." Luke 4:1-13 If God took time out to fast and pray, it seems like a good idea that we do the same. Lent is our opportunity to let God purify us. Let those things burn away that keep us from being who He's called us to be. Sometimes it's idols, addictions, worldliness, materialism, wounds, unconfessed sin that keep us from advancing in our holiness. Sometimes we may even not recognize there are things causing a wall between us and God. Those walls prevent us from living out our full God-given identity and stunt our growth as we try and become more like Jesus. Having a close relationship of praying and listening, keeps us from being in the dark of unknown barriers. We can ask the Holy Spirit to increase our ability and our sensitivity to His communication if we are struggling in that area.

Give a lot of yourself and press in to God. Frequently evaluating where you are and how the progress is going. Asking the Holy Spirit to reveal to you how is He trying to lead you. Remember it's more about our surrender and retaining God's grace then us giving something up or doing something nice to cross it off a Lent to-do list. Failure is okay. Sometimes in our failures God teaches us the humility or the key to the virtue we've been needing to conquer that vice we have struggled with.

Keeping a journal or just daily going over what went well and what didn't, so you know what to pray for is helpful. The only good in us comes from God. He gives us the graces we need to change and become holier. When we rely on our strength, it's limited. His strength is limitless. So rely totally on Him. He just needs our, "yes" and our surrender! Happy Lent!

Know of my prayers for you!