As you read this, the season of Lent is now upon us. Lent, is the
46 day period between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. It
is a time to pause, reflect and spend time with God by reading
the Bible and spending time in prayer in the lead up to Easter
when we remember Jesus’ death on the cross and celebrate His
resurrection. It is also a time when we perhaps give something up that we
enjoy eating – chocolate, sweets etc; or something we enjoy doing like being
active on social media; (except on Sundays which are exempt) and focus on
helping others. Lent was inspired by the 40 days that Jesus spent in the
wilderness being tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1-11). During that time
Jesus fasted and it was in his hunger that the devil came and tried to tempt Him
to turn stones into bread for Him to eat. Resisting temptation, Jesus replied: “It
is written people do not live on bread alone but by every word that comes from
mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4) Jesus is saying that although it is important for
us to eat solid food to sustain our bodies, it is far more important to have
spiritual food for our souls and this comes from God through the Bible. So,
“our daily bread” that we ask for in the Lord’s prayer is not just for the physical
bread that we buy from the supermarket but also the spiritual bread that God
provides to sustain us in our lives. While we may find it difficult to give up those
things we enjoy during Lent, God richly provides for us through his sustaining,
life giving word which helps us to resist temptation when we fancy a bit a
chocolate or when we reach for our iPad or phone. So, when we feel tempted,
why not reflect on Jesus’ words and replace the word “bread” with that thing
we are trying to avoid to help us overcome our withdrawal symptoms: “People
do not live by…[Dairy Milk, Mars, Maltesers, chocolate biscuits, Liquorice
allsorts, Facebook, WhatsApp]…alone but by every word that comes from the
mouth of God.” It worked for Jesus, and it can work for us.

Blessings, prayers and love,

Robert