This coming Sunday, April 9th, is Easter/Resurrection Sunday. It is the celebration of the risen Christ. It’s the Sunday where families gather together to celebrate during family dinners, and honestly speaking it’s the one Sunday where attendance in church is at an all time high. Easter Sunday represents so much for people across the globe, including the conclusion of the Lenten season. At the beginning of Lent (Ash Wednesday, February 22nd), believers everywhere were excited to make sacrifices in an effort to grow in their spirituality, get closer to Christ and emulate His fasting and praying before He went to the cross. People were intentional with their actions. Many remain steadfast and focused. Some may have given in and broken their fast and casually moved on with their usual routines and said that they’ll try again next year. While others may have faced challenges, they still continue to push through each day making an effort to successfully reach the end of the 40 day fasting period. As believers or church goers are preparing their lavish ensembles, hats, hairdos, and even preparing to end their period of sacrifice, how many are preparing their hearts to continue their spiritual journey of becoming Christ-like or becoming closer to God?
On Easter/Resurrection Sunday believers will break their fasting/period and return to habits they relinquished for 40 days. So if this is the case, what was the point of the sacrifice? Did it bring you closer to God? If so, then why revert back to the habit you let go or was the sacrifice superficial? As people return to their normal routines one can’t help but wonder if the sacrifice was one that focused on spiritual growth, if it was something routine that’s done each year for the sake of honoring routine, or was it a challenge created from church leaders to honor the Lenten season rather than honoring Christ’s sacrifice? If your journey of fasting ends on Easter Sunday and you want to continue, reshape/rethink your road to a deeper connection with Christ. If you don’t know where to begin, take a look at the steps below.
Begin planning for next year now! Rather than making a superficial sacrifice, think of a biblical characteristic you want to perfect in you, and one unChrist-like habit you want to purge. Write them both down side by side, and then write ways you can implement the biblical trait you want to grow in into your daily life. On the other side, write ways you can stop exercising the habit you want to purge. Make sure the things you’ve listed on both sides are practical and make sense for your spiritual growth.
Find scriptures to read that will help you remain focused on your spiritual growth. Read them daily for understanding and application in your daily life.
Pray daily for your journey. At the beginning of each day, spend time in prayer before you continue with daily practices. Ask for grace, guidance, focus and strength as you start each day. To take things a step further, map or write out prayers for your Lenten or spiritual goals.
Identify a spiritual accountability partner or create a spiritual accountability team. Everyone needs someone to help them on this journey called life. Identifying a person or group of people to help you with spiritual goals and or planning ahead for next year’s season of lent will keep you focused, realistic and help you maintain responsibility for your goals. When making this selection, please be very selective. Everyone is not on the same spiritual page as you are, and may not know how to assist you.
Get rid of distractions that may hinder you from accomplishing your Lenten goals. Distractions can include television, cellphones, certain hobbies and even spending less time with certain people. Take some time and reflect on any people, places, things, hobbies or ideas that often deter you from working on goals and then decide on how you will remove yourself from them.
As the sun sets on Lenten Season 2023, take some time to reflect on this year’s journey. Think about what you would do differently, what you’d keep the same, and then move forward with mindful preparation for next year. The only way you’ll begin to change is to take conscious steps towards making it happen. Happy Easter/Resurrection Sunday everyone!