Important Truth to Remember About the Heart of Lent
Wednesday marks the beginning of the Lenten season.
So today, I’d like to share one of Rev’s Bible Messages on Suffering and the Heart of Lent.
One of my favorite columnists of all time was Erma Bombeck. She had a way of talking about everyday things and making a point while putting a smile on your face.
Here are a couple of examples of her humor:
1. My second favorite household chore is ironing. My first one is hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint.
2. Seize the moment. Think of all those women on the Titanic who waved off the dessert cart.
My favorite Erma Bombeck story is a shared conversation she once had with her then-young son while they waited for the school bus.
“Mom, I don’t want to go to school today. School is too long … it is too hard … and the people there aren’t very nice to me.”
“Son,” she replied, ” you just described life … now get on the bus and go to school.”
Life can be hard, some say it should come with a warning label, something like:
WARNING: Life can be full of fun and adventure and excitement and joy, but there are side effects, including illness, abuse, broken relationships, betrayal, sorrow, loss, injuries, disappointment, and heartache.
Have you ever suffered?
Everyone has. Some stories are so unimaginable that they make the rest of us hang our heads, ashamed that we ever spent a second feeling sorry for ourselves.
It reminds me of the conversation the Lord had with Ananias about going to see Saul following his Damascus road encounter.
“Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.” (Acts 9:15–16)
And years later, Paul shared the following about that suffering…
Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas.
2 Corinthians 11: 24–26
But through those many arduous experiences, God used Paul to make a huge impact on the Kingdom of Faith.
I’ve been thinking a lot about how Jesus willingly came to our broken world and offered Himself to suffer the consequences of sinful people. How He endured pain and rejection, and experienced hunger and homelessness.
Our Savior freely offered Himself to experience a suffering you and I can only imagine, because He knew, and wanted us to know, that there is victory at the end of suffering.
The Heart of Lent is that through Jesus, you and I have the promise of living in victory following suffering.
Being a follower of Jesus isn’t about gritting our teeth and bearing our suffering. It’s about the truth that through faith in Him, we are spared the most horrific suffering of all … being eternally separated from God, in a place of endless sin and suffering.
The Heart of Lent is the reminder that the Lord promised to give us what we need to endure suffering with faith, hope, and love. That His Spirit will help us focus not on our suffering but on the victory we have through Jesus, now and forever. And that He will help us share our stories and His love in ways that impact His Kingdom … all for His glory.
So, when you and I are confronted with sin and suffering, we need to remember to run to the One who understands because He willingly endured the unimaginable to defeat the ultimate suffering of sin and death.
Let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
Hebrews 4:16
Let’s pray…
A Prayer to Remember the Heart of Lent
Heavenly Father, the magnitude of Your love overwhelms me. It’s hard for me to comprehend Jesus’ willingness to suffer the unimaginable for me.
He left the glories of heaven, becoming fully God and fully man, to save Your creation from the eternal consequences of sin. He grew in a human womb, endured childbirth, and lived through childhood in a humble working-class home.
He suffered the horrors of the cross to give us victory.
Because of Jesus, everyone who places their faith in Him can be confident that His victory is theirs as well. The suffering of this life is temporary, and the promise of life in Your glorious presence is eternal.
By Your grace, I can live in victory when I keep my heart and mind focused on my Savior, Jesus. That is the Heart of Lent—pausing to remember His suffering sacrifice that gives victory and life.
I thank and praise You. I give you my all, loving You with my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Please help me live for Your glory and proclaim Jesus’ love to a world that needs to know and love Him, and You, more than anything. All I have and look forward to is because of Jesus, in whose name I pray. Amen.
Joni Eareckson-Tada shared…
“Every sorrow we taste will one day prove to be the best possible thing that could have happened. We will thank God endlessly in heaven for the trials He sent us here. This is not Disneyland … This is truth.”
Why? What good is suffering?
It shows us our need. Grows our faith. Inspires our lives. Encourages other believers. And helps us focus on the victory we have in Jesus, now and forever.
Paul wrote…
But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord. That is what the Scriptures mean when they say,
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
1 Corinthians 2:8–9
and no mind has imagined
what God has prepared
for those who love Him.”
That is the Heart of Lent and our hope for today, tomorrow, and ALWAYS!
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WOW! Rev’s words are so powerful and such a wonderful, heartfelt reminder of what Jesus went through for our redemption. I am blessed by this!
Also, I can’t imagine and do not want to imagine a life where I am separated from God. The loneliness would be unbearable for sure.
Thank you for this post.
I pray that you have a very safe and blessed week and you will be encouraged as you encourage us!
Thank you, Sue. Isn’t is awesome to know we don’t have to imagine a life separated from God, all because of Jesus. God is so gracious and good. And we are so very blessed! Have a wonderful week, dear friend.
That is truly the heart of Lent, Deb. Yes, we will endure suffering in this world, but Jesus proclaims victory in the end so we can, too. Have a blessed Lenten season, my friend!
Amen, Martha! What a blessing to know that God has prepared a victorious future for all who Love and Trust in Him. Blessings to you, dear friend!
The 1st time I remembered to to thank our God for a challenge I was experiencing, it was so foreign! I was angry and hurt and here I was role-playing being grateful. And then I saw and felt how He was right. That suffering reveals our need for Him. And He will make all things new. He will change our hearts so we can grow in our Faith in Him and His Son and His Spirit. Thank God we have you!
It’s hard to be thankful when life hurts. The Lord reminded me once as we were walking through pain, that I had no idea the things we’d been spared. Even when life is painful, He is always watchful and loving. He is still guarding and protecting. And as a member of His family through Christ, we can walk through today with hope for the future. He is making all things new! Glory to God!! Blessings JoAnne!
🙏 Amen