Lent: A Forty-Day Retreat

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. For most of the past 2000 years, Christians have set aside the 40 days leading up to Easter as a special time for reorienting our lives to the Lord. Sundays are not part of the 40 days, since these days celebrate the Resurrection on that first Easter morning. The remaining 40 days between now and Easter, however, are special days for us to consecrate our lives to the Lord. Many do a fast of one kind or another as a discipline that helps to break us free from anything we might be clinging to rather than the Lord.

Recently we received a newsletter from a local Christian retreat center that referred to Lent as a “Forty-day retreat.” What a wonderful image of Lent! That little phrase has helped to give me fresh focus as I enter the season of Lent this year.

Retreats are so necessary to maintain our priorities in the Christian life. In the midst of all our busyness, we need to pull back periodically for rest and regrouping our lives to what is truly important. On a retreat we intentionally reflect, repent, reorient and rekindle our love for the Lord.

Reflect
When we take time to fast from a meal—during Lent or any other time—we set aside that time for Scripture, prayer, worship and reflection. Here are some significant questions to explore:
-How are you connecting with the Lord these days?
-What is God trying to teach you right now in life?
-Where do you sense the Lord’s presence in your week?
-Where is life being drained from you?

Repent
Repentance and conversion are ongoing processes in our lives. They are not something about which we can ever say, “been there, done that.” No, they are ongoing realities for the genuine believer—turning away from what is wrong and turning to the Lord. What must change:
-in your walk with the Lord?
-in your inner thought life?
-in your relationships around you?
-in your actions?

Reorient
Lent is a time to regroup. We reset our priorities and our focus. We get back on track, reorienting ourselves to the One who created us and loves us.
-What must you do to walk out the repentance God is calling you to?
-What ways can you set aside the 40 days leading up to Easter in order to focus your life afresh on the Lord?
-What spiritual rhythms do you need to reestablish in your life right now?

Rekindle
Above all, Lent is a time to rekindle our love for the Lord. Take some extra time during this season leading up to Easter to enjoy God’s presence, to sit in silence and listen to his voice, to worship him in a different way than you normally do on Sunday mornings. Be creative. Perhaps you want to set aside a “date night” to be alone with the Lord during these coming weeks. Perhaps you will go away to a retreat center. Perhaps it will be fasting once a week where you pull apart during that time for solitude with the One you love.

May this Lent indeed be a forty-day retreat in my life and yours! May we embrace this season as an opportunity to reflect, repent, regroup and rekindle our love for the Lord!

© 2012 Glenn E. Myers