Greater Love Has None Than This…

Happy Valentine’s Day, art blog friends! Today is a day to celebrate love and relationships. It is a day to let the special people in our lives know just how loved they are by showering them with gifts and affection. Ok, this you may already know but what you may be unaware of is that something else very special is taking place today. February 14 is actually shared by not one but TWO important holidays this year - today also marks the start of Lent! “Oh boy, Lent,” I can almost hear the sarcastic wooo-hooos now lol. But just hear me out. 

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the holiday, Lent is a liturgical season (part of the Christian calendar year) in which Believers are invited to commemorate Jesus’ 40 days of fasting and temptation in the wilderness. This is often done by committing to one’s own fast in the 40 days leading up to Easter. While some denominations place a lot of emphasis on the observation of Lent, it is not specific to any one branch of Christianity and any follower of Jesus can participate. Any believer can participate and anything can be given up as a sacrifice, so long as it is something that is actually a sacrifice (i.e. something that you are genuinely attached to) and something that you shouldn’t already be abstaining from (i.e. sin).   

“But why on Earth would anyone want to fast from anything for 40 days?!” you might be exclaiming to yourself right now. Why, I’m so happy you asked :). A Lenten fast is a wonderful act of remembrance and solidarity. It is a way to connect with your Savior on a deeper and more personal level. By engaging in our own fast, we gain appreciation and insight into what Jesus experienced, not just on an intellectual level (understanding with our minds) but with our heart, soul, and body as well. It is also a practical step one can take to demonstrate faith in God’s power saying: “Lord, there is no way I can do this on my own, but I know that I can do all things with YOUR help.” And most importantly, it is a way to say, "Lord, I love you more than [fill in the blank] and I desire You more than [blank]."

Giving something up for 40 days might sound scary at first but, in my own experiences, I have found it to be an incredibly rewarding time full of blessing and revelation! God always shows me something new and wonderful that I totally did not expect and helps me do things I never thought I could do. And don’t even get me started on what a fast can do for your prayer life! If you have ever wanted to “turn up the volume” on your conversations with God, a fast is a great way to do it!   

So to anyone out there who’s thinking, “ok, I’m interested but I’ve never ‘Lented’ before. I wouldn’t even know where to start!” Here are 7 things I would recommend.

1. Pray. This might sound way too simple, but prayer is the best place to start anything! Check-in with God before starting a fast and see what He thinks. If He gives you the green-light you may also want to ask Him to highlight something to fast from. And prayer is more than just a starting point. It is critical to keep that conversation with God going all throughout your fast. I once read a great quote that stated, “fasting without prayer just makes you a hungry Christian.” I couldn’t have said it better!

2. Consider what you can fast from. Abstaining from food is the most typical form of fasting, however, anything can be given up in sacrifice during a fast. Over the years, I have given up coffee, Netflix, and even sleeping on a mattress! All of these things were things I enjoyed, things that required sacrifice, and things that God highlighted to me as acceptable offerings.

3. Start small. It is better to fully commit to something small and see it through than to pledge yourself to some superhuman accomplishment (unless otherwise instructed by God) and bail after only a few hours. This might look like giving up a single meal, or one specific food item rather than fasting from all food for 40 days. Or maybe God is calling you to start off fasting from social media rather than food. You might also consider starting small with the length of your fast - one day, or three days, or one week vs. the full 40 days. 

4. Remember why you are fasting. The purpose of a fast isn’t to just simply give something up, it is to connect with God. This is not a Christian diet, it is a sacrifice aimed at bringing you into closer relationship with God… so make a point to spend time with Him! Whatever you are fasting from, use the free time and energy (that you would normally be spending on whatever you are abstaining from) to seek God. Use what would traditionally be your breakfast time to pray. Or spend the time that you would typically use to checking your updates on FB to read the Word, for example. Matthew 4:1-11 details Jesus’ own fast in the wilderness and is a great place to start.  

5. Ask God for help. Fasting goes against our very human nature. Divine assistance is necessary when attempting to give up the things that we are attached to in the flesh. Fasting is the victory of the Spirit dwelling in us over the flesh. And asking  for God/The Holy Spirit’s help isn’t a one time deal, you may need to do this daily (or hourly) depending on your fast. I once heard a great tip that our cravings can be flipped and used to our benefit during a fast. For example, hunger pangs are the bodies alarm system that tells you “hey, I’m hungry” but that same alarm can be repurposed to remind you “hey, it’s time to pray” or “it’s time to declare who God is!” 

6. Have your fighting scriptures bookmarked, highlighted, and ready! You may encounter some resistance, even spiritual warfare when you attempt a fast. And trust me, foggy, hungry, and tired is not the time to be fishing around for verses to defend yourself with! Have those babies flagged and your Bible at the ready.

7. Keep a journal and get ready for the blessings! Even if you aren’t a “journal-er,” especially if you aren’t a journal-er, start one! Amazing things happen when we fast - miracles, revelations, healings, even answered prayers! But sometimes these things can slip past our radar; especially if you are in that foggy, hungry, warring state I just mentioned. It is always incredible the things I see when I go back through my Lenten journal. Sometimes just the act of writing an entry causes me to see a connection that would have otherwise gone unnoticed.  

Lent and Valentine’s Day might seem like an unlikely pair, sacrifice and love an odd couple, but I posit to you Jesus’ words recorded in John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” God loves you more than you could ever fathom! He loves you so much that He sacrificed the thing that was most precious to Him, His only son, just for the chance to be close to you. Let’s love Him back! Let’s strive to draw nearer to Him this Lenten season! 

Love to you all, happy Lenten-tine’s Day <3 

If you would like to learn more about Lent, check out my previous post “Banana Bread of Life.”