First Sunday in Lent

“Forty Days to Become Who We Truly Are”

If the Son of God needed forty days in the wilderness to prepare for what lay ahead… what makes us think we do not?

In my book 40 Days with God: A Vertical Journey, I ask the reader a simple, piercing question: If Jesus—God made flesh—needed forty days to prepare for His journey ahead, don’t you? We are not God. We are dust redeemed by grace. We need the forty days even more—especially in an age of noise, distraction, and spiritual clutter.

This Sunday’s lessons call us back to the garden… and into the wilderness.

 Collect

Almighty and merciful Father,
You placed humanity in a garden of abundance, yet we reached for what was forbidden.
You sent Your Son into the wilderness, where He faced the tempter and overcame.
As we begin this holy season of Lent, lead us by Your Spirit into the quiet places of truth.
Where we are weak, be mighty to save.
Where we are cluttered, cleanse us.
Where we are tempted, strengthen us.
Burn away what is toxic within us, and make room for the light of Christ to dwell richly in our hearts.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Scripture

Genesis 2:15–17; 3:1–7 – Humanity placed in the garden… and humanity reaching beyond God’s command.
Psalm 32 – “Happy are they whose transgressions are forgiven.”
Romans 5:12–19 – Through one man came sin and death; through one Man comes grace and life.
Matthew 4:1–11 – Jesus, led by the Spirit, fasting forty days, tempted in the wilderness—and victorious.

The Devotional

The story begins in a garden.

Adam and Eve lacked nothing. Yet temptation whispered, “Did God really say?” The serpent did not begin with rebellion. He began with doubt. And doubt opened the door to disorder.

Genesis shows us what happens when we grasp at life apart from God.

Matthew shows us what happens when we surrender to God fully.

Where Adam reached for the fruit, Jesus refused the bread.
Where Adam listened to the serpent, Jesus answered with Scripture.
Where Adam fell among trees of delight, Jesus stood firm among stones of desolation.

As Paul writes in Romans, the first Adam brought condemnation. The second Adam—Christ—brings justification and life.

Lent is where we decide which Adam we will follow.

I began my fast on Wednesday. I have cut back on certain comforts. But I must confess: cutting back is easier than going deeper. It is one thing to empty the plate. It is another to fill the silence with prayer.

Fasting is not merely subtraction. It is preparation.

When we empty the spiritual clutter of our lives—resentment, distraction, indulgence, endless scrolling, self-reliance—we create space. And in that space, the Holy Spirit begins a holy work.

Spiritually, it mirrors what happens physically. After extended fasting, the body shifts into ketosis, and processes like autophagy begin clearing damaged cells—a kind of internal renewal.¹ The body burns what is broken so new strength can emerge.

In the same way, when we fast and pray, the Spirit burns away what is toxic in our souls—pride, fear, bitterness, false attachments—and makes room for the light of God to fill us.

Psalm 32 tells us that when we conceal sin, our bones wither. But when we confess, we are surrounded with “shouts of deliverance.”

Lent is not punishment. It is purification.
It is not deprivation. It is preparation.
It is not earning grace. It is making room for it.

Jesus did not fast because He was weak. He fasted because He was preparing for obedience.

We are not God made flesh. We are frail flesh being made holy. We desperately need these forty days.

A Modern Story

In 2016, journalist Michael Mosley explored extended fasting and cellular renewal in his BBC documentary Trust Me, I’m a Doctor. He described how periods of fasting trigger autophagy—the body’s process of cleaning out damaged cells and regenerating healthier ones.¹

Participants reported not only physical clarity, but mental and emotional clarity as well.

One participant described it this way:
“It felt like my body was taking out the trash.”

I could not help but think: that is precisely what Lent is meant to be.

Not self-punishment.
Not religious performance.
But taking out the trash.

Confession clears the clutter.
Silence quiets the noise.
Prayer reorders the heart.

And grace fills the empty space.

The Charge

This week, do not merely “give something up.”
Give something over.

  • When tempted, answer with Scripture.

  • When distracted, return to silence.

  • When convicted, confess quickly.

  • When empty, wait for God to fill you.

If Christ prepared for forty days before stepping into His calling, do not rush your preparation.

Enter the wilderness willingly.
There are angels waiting on the other side.

Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ,
You stood where Adam fell.
You fasted where we feast.
You trusted where we doubt.

Lead us through these forty days.
Strip away what hinders us.
Cleanse what is unclean.
Heal what is broken.
Strengthen what is weak.

May Your Word be our bread,
Your presence our shelter,
Your cross our victory.

And when Easter dawns,
May we rise lighter, freer, and more alive in You.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Footnote

¹ Michael Mosley, Trust Me, I’m a Doctor (BBC, 2016), reporting on fasting, ketosis, and autophagy research in human health studies.