40 Thoughts: Day 11

As we begin our second week of Lent, consider this hymn:

With tender look, and voice of thrilling grace,
The Savior once to His disciples said,
"Come ye apart into a desert place.
And rest awhile the aching heart and head."

He says so still to all who are His own,
To all aweary with the world's sad strife,
"Come, spend with me a little while alone,
Leave the hot fever and the fret of life.

"Come from the world's hard struggle and its din,
Discords that pain the ear and never cease,
Wild stormy passions, tumults of man's sin,
Which put to shame the angel's song of peace.

"Come, when perplexed by doubt or anxious fear,
And I will make dark things all clear and plain,
Will shed the light of hope on dull despair,
And give true peace where now is only pain."

C. D. Bell.
 

Are you tired of Lent already? Has it become a hassle? Has it become inconvenient and annoying and dumb to you? Have you forgotten why you started?

"Come ye apart into a desert place. And rest awhile"

We are not led by the Spirit into the desert to inflict pain upon ourselves for forty days just because Jesus went into the desert. Jesus calls you into the desert because he has a will for you there; he wants you to find true peace and happiness in him. He wants you to turn your back on earthly desires and earthly disappointments and come to know him as the enduring hope, love, and joy that he is.

So now, in our second week of Lent, let yourself be called back into the desert and expect peace and happiness to find you on the other side of sacrifice. This Lenten season is more about love than it will ever be about sacrifice.

Have a loving day