Lent: An Intentional Journey Toward the Resurrection
You may not have grown up in a church tradition that observes Lent. Maybe this is the first time you’re even hearing the word. Or maybe you come from a Catholic background and Lent feels very familiar to you.
While the Bible does not use the word Lent, the season reflects a pattern found throughout Scripture. Lent is an intentional time to slow down, pray, fast, repent, reflect, and return to God (Joel 2:12–13; James 4:8). For generations, the church has observed this season as a way of preparing hearts for the cross and the resurrection.
In many ways, Lent simply gives shape to rhythms already present in the Bible, setting aside time to fix our eyes on Christ, grieve our sin honestly, and anchor ourselves again in the hope of the gospel.
If you’re familiar with Lent, you know it marks the 40 days leading up to Easter, Sundays excepted. Like Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness, it has often been reduced to giving up chocolate or other comforts to show devotion. But Lent is far deeper than proving you can give something up. Jesus modeled a different pattern, spending forty days fasting and preparing for ministry (Matt. 4:1–2), living in dependence on the Father.
Lent begins this year on Ash Wednesday, a day that may feel unfamiliar or even confusing to some. If you grew up in a Catholic setting, you may remember ashes placed on your forehead. In Scripture, ashes represent grief over sin. Job sat in dust and ashes as a sign of repentance (Job 42:6), reminding us of our brokenness and our humanity, that we are dust and will return to dust (Gen. 3:19; Ps. 103:14).
In a culture where the self can easily take center stage, Lent redirects our attention to the cross. It invites us to face our sin honestly and remember our frailty. Yet the story does not end in ashes. Scripture tells us that “godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret” (2 Cor. 7:10). Jesus meets us in our repentance and leads us into newness of life.
As we consider how to live more consistently in the life Christ has secured for us, Lent calls us to move from brokenness toward hope. It reorients our hearts from the cross to the empty tomb, remembering that “He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification” (Rom. 4:25).
Here are two reasons to participate in Lent this year, and how.
1. Lent gives us an intentional season of preparing for Easter.
Much like Advent prepares us for Christmas, Lent prepares us for the resurrection. The resurrection is not merely an event. It is a reminder that God is making all things new (Rev. 21:5). Too often we overlook how deeply the empty tomb should shape our daily lives, yet Scripture reminds us that “without the resurrection, our faith is futile” (1 Cor. 15:14).
Lent invites us to die to ourselves, to lay down desires, cravings, and passions that pull us away from the life God calls us into (Luke 9:23; Gal. 5:24). It is a season to consider what it means for those old patterns to fade so that new life, joy, and peace in Christ might rise on the other side (Rom. 6:4).
Lent reminds us that we live in the tension of the already and the not yet, and that tension is filled with hope. We still experience brokenness now, yet through the resurrection our future is already secured (1 Pet. 1:3–4). Because of that, resurrection hope meets us in our suffering and reminds us that evil and pain are not our final story (Rom. 8:18).
During Lent, we learn to stand where the disciples once stood, holding grief and wonder together as we move toward the joy of that morning when the empty tomb changed everything (Matt. 28:8; Mark 16:8; Luke 24:12).
2. Lent gives us the opportunity to remember how hungry for God we really are.
After Jesus fasted and prayed in the wilderness for forty days, He began His earthly ministry (Matt. 4:1–4). In those weeks in the desert, Jesus experienced hunger, loneliness, and temptation, yet He remained sinless and faithful to the Father (Heb. 4:15).
Observing Lent is not easy. Giving something up for a season exposes how attached we can be to comfort or routine. We may even feel “withdrawal symptoms” from whatever our normal fix may be. He reminds us, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4).
Why give something up? Fasting is more than simply giving something up for God. It is meant to grow in us a deeper hunger for God. Probably the best book on fasting I have ever read is by John Piper called A Hunger for God: Desiring God through Fasting and Prayer. He writes this on fasting:
“The final answer is that God rewards fasting because fasting expresses the cry of the heart that nothing on the earth can satisfy our souls besides God. God must reward this cry because God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.”
“...fasting, for Ezra, was not only an expression of humility and desperation; it was an expression of desiring God with life-and-death seriousness. ‘So we fasted and implored our God.’ Fasting comes in alongside prayer with all its hunger for God and says, ‘We are not able in ourselves to win this battle. We are not able to change hearts or minds. We are not able to change worldviews and transform culture and save 1.6 million children. We are not able to reform the judiciary or embolden the legislature or mobilize the slumbering population. We are not able to heal the endless wounds of godless ideologies and their bloody deeds. But, O God, you are able!’”
In other words, giving something up for Lent is not a way to try to get something from God. It teaches us how desperate we are for God and for him to do what only He can. Learning to depend on Him is the sweet spot of the Christian life (John 15:5).
Two Ways to Observe Lent
1. Fast.
The goal of fasting is not simply giving something up. The aim is to fast in a way that turns your heart toward God whenever you feel absence of food (Isa. 58:6–9). Fasting reminds us that our deepest need is not comfort, distraction, or control, but Christ Himself. It is not about shaking off a bad habit or avoiding something you should not eat like ice cream. It is about reordering desire and sacrifice.
That is the heart behind biblical fasting. Not proving devotion, but cultivating greater dependence.
In Scripture, fasting is primarily tied to food. While there are moments in the bible of denying self of other comforts, the Bible makes a distinction between fasting and simple self-denial. Food remains central because it exposes how deeply we rely on daily provision.
Hunger becomes a teacher, echoing Jesus’ words in the wilderness: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” God’s Word, His promises, and His presence are our true sustenance, and fasting helps bring that truth into clearer focus.
Biblically, fasting is tied to specific purposes:
The common thread in each example is dependence. Fasting is a visible confession that we need God more than what sustains us physically. Or as John Piper often describes it, fasting is a hunger for God.
2. Focus.
Lent gives us intentional time to fix our hearts and minds on the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus (Heb. 12:2; Col. 3:1–2). Reading a devotional with a Lent focus can stir our affections for Christ and remind us how much we need Him. We recommend this free online devotional written by Tim Keller before he passed and provided by Gospel in Life. Click below to begin reading.
Daily Lent Devotional
“The supremacy of God in all things is the great reward we long for in fasting. His supremacy in our own affections and in all our life-choices. His supremacy in the purity of the church. His supremacy in the salvation of the lost. His supremacy in the establishing of righteousness and justice. And his supremacy for the joy of all peoples in the evangelization of the world.”
― John Piper
While the Bible does not use the word Lent, the season reflects a pattern found throughout Scripture. Lent is an intentional time to slow down, pray, fast, repent, reflect, and return to God (Joel 2:12–13; James 4:8). For generations, the church has observed this season as a way of preparing hearts for the cross and the resurrection.
In many ways, Lent simply gives shape to rhythms already present in the Bible, setting aside time to fix our eyes on Christ, grieve our sin honestly, and anchor ourselves again in the hope of the gospel.
Psalm 139:23–24
“Search me, O God, and know my heart… see if there be any grievous way in me.”
Joel 2:12–13
“Return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”
2 Corinthians 7:10
“Godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret.”
Psalm 51:10–12
“Create in me a clean heart, O God.”
Matthew 4:1–4
Jesus fasting in the wilderness, trusting the Word over physical hunger.
"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
Lent begins this year on Ash Wednesday, a day that may feel unfamiliar or even confusing to some. If you grew up in a Catholic setting, you may remember ashes placed on your forehead. In Scripture, ashes represent grief over sin. Job sat in dust and ashes as a sign of repentance (Job 42:6), reminding us of our brokenness and our humanity, that we are dust and will return to dust (Gen. 3:19; Ps. 103:14).
In a culture where the self can easily take center stage, Lent redirects our attention to the cross. It invites us to face our sin honestly and remember our frailty. Yet the story does not end in ashes. Scripture tells us that “godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret” (2 Cor. 7:10). Jesus meets us in our repentance and leads us into newness of life.
As we consider how to live more consistently in the life Christ has secured for us, Lent calls us to move from brokenness toward hope. It reorients our hearts from the cross to the empty tomb, remembering that “He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification” (Rom. 4:25).
Here are two reasons to participate in Lent this year, and how.
1. Lent gives us an intentional season of preparing for Easter.
Much like Advent prepares us for Christmas, Lent prepares us for the resurrection. The resurrection is not merely an event. It is a reminder that God is making all things new (Rev. 21:5). Too often we overlook how deeply the empty tomb should shape our daily lives, yet Scripture reminds us that “without the resurrection, our faith is futile” (1 Cor. 15:14).
Lent invites us to die to ourselves, to lay down desires, cravings, and passions that pull us away from the life God calls us into (Luke 9:23; Gal. 5:24). It is a season to consider what it means for those old patterns to fade so that new life, joy, and peace in Christ might rise on the other side (Rom. 6:4).
Lent reminds us that we live in the tension of the already and the not yet, and that tension is filled with hope. We still experience brokenness now, yet through the resurrection our future is already secured (1 Pet. 1:3–4). Because of that, resurrection hope meets us in our suffering and reminds us that evil and pain are not our final story (Rom. 8:18).
During Lent, we learn to stand where the disciples once stood, holding grief and wonder together as we move toward the joy of that morning when the empty tomb changed everything (Matt. 28:8; Mark 16:8; Luke 24:12).
2. Lent gives us the opportunity to remember how hungry for God we really are.
After Jesus fasted and prayed in the wilderness for forty days, He began His earthly ministry (Matt. 4:1–4). In those weeks in the desert, Jesus experienced hunger, loneliness, and temptation, yet He remained sinless and faithful to the Father (Heb. 4:15).
Observing Lent is not easy. Giving something up for a season exposes how attached we can be to comfort or routine. We may even feel “withdrawal symptoms” from whatever our normal fix may be. He reminds us, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4).
Why give something up? Fasting is more than simply giving something up for God. It is meant to grow in us a deeper hunger for God. Probably the best book on fasting I have ever read is by John Piper called A Hunger for God: Desiring God through Fasting and Prayer. He writes this on fasting:
“The final answer is that God rewards fasting because fasting expresses the cry of the heart that nothing on the earth can satisfy our souls besides God. God must reward this cry because God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.”
“...fasting, for Ezra, was not only an expression of humility and desperation; it was an expression of desiring God with life-and-death seriousness. ‘So we fasted and implored our God.’ Fasting comes in alongside prayer with all its hunger for God and says, ‘We are not able in ourselves to win this battle. We are not able to change hearts or minds. We are not able to change worldviews and transform culture and save 1.6 million children. We are not able to reform the judiciary or embolden the legislature or mobilize the slumbering population. We are not able to heal the endless wounds of godless ideologies and their bloody deeds. But, O God, you are able!’”
In other words, giving something up for Lent is not a way to try to get something from God. It teaches us how desperate we are for God and for him to do what only He can. Learning to depend on Him is the sweet spot of the Christian life (John 15:5).
Two Ways to Observe Lent
1. Fast.
The goal of fasting is not simply giving something up. The aim is to fast in a way that turns your heart toward God whenever you feel absence of food (Isa. 58:6–9). Fasting reminds us that our deepest need is not comfort, distraction, or control, but Christ Himself. It is not about shaking off a bad habit or avoiding something you should not eat like ice cream. It is about reordering desire and sacrifice.
That is the heart behind biblical fasting. Not proving devotion, but cultivating greater dependence.
In Scripture, fasting is primarily tied to food. While there are moments in the bible of denying self of other comforts, the Bible makes a distinction between fasting and simple self-denial. Food remains central because it exposes how deeply we rely on daily provision.
Hunger becomes a teacher, echoing Jesus’ words in the wilderness: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” God’s Word, His promises, and His presence are our true sustenance, and fasting helps bring that truth into clearer focus.
Biblically, fasting is tied to specific purposes:
- Repentance and Lament
Nehemiah 9:1–3 – Israel fasts while confessing sin and returning to the Law.
1 Samuel 7:5–6 – Fasting connected to repentance
Jonah 3:5–10 – Nineveh fasts in response to God’s warning.
- Grief and Mourning
1 Samuel 31:13 – Israel fasts after Saul’s death.
2 Samuel 1:12 – David and his men fast in mourning.
Psalm 35:13 – David describes fasting in sorrow for others.
- Petition and Preparation
Ezra 8:21–23 – Fasting for God’s protection and guidance.
Acts 13:2–3 – The church fasts before sending out missionaries.
Acts 14:23 – Prayer and fasting before installing elders.
The common thread in each example is dependence. Fasting is a visible confession that we need God more than what sustains us physically. Or as John Piper often describes it, fasting is a hunger for God.
2. Focus.
Lent gives us intentional time to fix our hearts and minds on the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus (Heb. 12:2; Col. 3:1–2). Reading a devotional with a Lent focus can stir our affections for Christ and remind us how much we need Him. We recommend this free online devotional written by Tim Keller before he passed and provided by Gospel in Life. Click below to begin reading.
Daily Lent Devotional
“The supremacy of God in all things is the great reward we long for in fasting. His supremacy in our own affections and in all our life-choices. His supremacy in the purity of the church. His supremacy in the salvation of the lost. His supremacy in the establishing of righteousness and justice. And his supremacy for the joy of all peoples in the evangelization of the world.”
― John Piper
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