You have probably noticed that once again, we find ourselves in the season of Lent.
Lent is the forty days of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving with which we strive to separate ourselves from our worldly attachments—in my case, Dr. Pepper and Netflix, amongst other things—and to prepare for the triumphant victory of Our Lord over death that follows on Easter Sunday.
As Jesus prepared to begin His public ministry, three years before the events of Holy Week and Easter, He withdrew to the desert. He fasted, and He allowed Himself to be tempted by Satan. Which begs the question . . . why though?
Certainly Jesus did not have to put up with the devil’s company or his lies. But He did so because you and I will face temptation. In His humility, Jesus gave us His own example in order to teach us to expect temptation and to overcome it.
Saint John Chrysostom wrote, “As Our Lord did everything for our instruction, so He wished to be led out into the wilderness and there to enter into combat with the devil. He did this in order that the baptized should not be troubled if after baptism they suffer still greater temptations, as though such were not to be expected, but may continue to endure all nobly, as though it were happening in the natural course of things” (Homilies on St. Matthew, 13, 1).
So, every year, I give up sweets and streaming. And every year, I hate it and suffer it and it’s so hard. But, as Saint John C also says, “You didn’t take up arms to be idle, but to fight.”
We fight against small temptations during Lent, to help us get fit to fight bigger temptations through the course of our lives. Each Lent is a fight against a thousand small temptations. Each Lent is an opportunity for a thousand small victories, and preparation in hope for the big victories, the ones that really matter.
[bctt tweet="Lent is an opportunity for a thousand small victories. // @kendra_tierney" username="blessedisshe__"]
listen to today’s devotion
What little temptations can you identify that you're struggling with? Ask the Holy Spirit for help!
