Finding Joy in Lent

“No, sir! If you want to be cured of your sin, do not back away from God but run to him with more confidence than ever, entreating him as if you had suddenly been struck with a physical malady.”   – Martin Luther

Lent is a time to find joy in the midst of dark desert times. It is seeing the bright light of victory and healing as the slight, but very real, first rays of dawn at the end of a long night. And there is joy because there is a cure for sin. Still in pride I avoid the light, the cure, the healing. I run to God when I have a cold, but run from Him when I act in anger.

And running from God is running from the light and joy of Lent. Often it takes more faith to stay and let God’s refining fire cleanse you than it does to run. Difficult times burn the extraneous away when we stand firm and cling to God. Running may relieve the burn, but it only results in darkness and despair. “Do you want to get well?” Jesus asked the crippled man at the pool. And He still asks us who are spiritually crippled, maimed…”Do you want to get well?”

The hope and joy of Lent is that Jesus is our cure. He suffered much so we don’t have to suffer. He will heal us, he will cure us, He will save us.

We only need to trust God as He guides us through the dark. He is bringing us to the light.