How 40 Days Could Save You 40 Years!

Forty days of giving up an area of sinful reliance in Lent can save us our forty years in the desert. In Matthew 4, the Spirit leading Jesus into the wilderness to be tested is the same test that the Israelites faced in their 40 years wandering the desert. Hebrews 3 reinforces this idea—Lent is to show the areas of resistance in our lives to God’s leadership. As Christians, we’re meant to live a transcending purpose beyond a story of being stuck and turned away from the Promised Land like the Israelites. The Israelites failed by incessantly questioning God’s leadership; not even raining down manna, running water from rocks, or sending quail convinced them out of their own way. Jesus, in contrast, submitted to God’s sovereignty by fasting even in the face of temptation, and even at the height of his plight without a clear sight out. Lent is meant to accentuate and shorten our resistance with God, so what areas of our lives are we still resisting God’s leadership?