If we observe Lent by giving something up, there can be temptations. We embark on this spiritual journey through the physical and mental exercise of fasting or giving something up, whether it is food or activity. The passage that I focus on with this blog is Luke, Chapter 4:1-13.

1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,

² Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.

³ And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.

⁴ And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

⁵ And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

⁶ And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.

⁷ If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.

⁸ And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

⁹ And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence:

¹⁰ For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee:

¹¹ And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

¹² And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

¹³ And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.

Please pay special attention to the fact that Jesus was “led by the Spirit,” and that he was not ordered or commanded to do this, but led. There was a reason, but he was not compelled or forced. Neither are we compelled or forced to participate in this observance. We do it because we are led to do so. But in choosing to follow that lead, we have to rely on prayer and God and willpower.

One of the worst arguments I have every year is this:

Me: But I chose to do this. I don’t have to do it.

Also Me: Yes, but you promised. What is your reason for breaking your word.

Me: I didn’t promise. I said I was going to and I changed my mind. ‘All things are lawful for me, but not all things are good for me.’

Also Me: Exactly. Backtracking is not good for you.

Me: (Grumbling) Too hard, it’s my birthday, it’s my kid’s birthday, nothing spiritual about caffeine withdrawal . . .

The answer to this argument is in Jesus’ dealing with the temptation. Have you noticed that Jesus could have changed the rocks into bread? Like water into wine. And he would not have sinned in the act of turning rocks into bread to eat, BUT . . . who told Jesus to do this? Taking orders from the wrong side, for the wrong reason . . . THAT’S the in, not eating something during a fast and certainly not transmogrifying stone to bread if you possess such a skill. The sin is the doubt and taking your commands from the wrong source. The doubt, the second-guessing, the “well, this is optional” arguments, all of it. Who is telling you that this is too hard or it is unnecessary? Where are these thoughts coming from?

You know, in a roundabout way, the devil was right: the kingdom of earth was Satan’s . . . in that mankind gave Satan power of it by allowing sin to control them. I don’t believe any of us will be sinless through all of Lent. I don’t pretend we won’t possibly falter, especially early in the morning before the new habit has settled in, and accidently have toast or coffee or jelly or bacon or forget to read our devotionals or hit snooze (I need to give up the snooze button). Of course we will. However, to choose to cave and give in and turn over our practice of worship to doubts that cannot come from the Lord or offers of flavor or sleep or the effects of coffee or “don’t be weird, drink the glass of wine you were offered” is the where the problem enters. We can evaluate whether this is sin at some other time, but the point is that we get caught up in what we are missing out on and forget to notice what we are gaining.

Gaining? Yes. More than just bragging rights, we gain control of our minds, perhaps we gain healthy habits, we gain spiritual insight and strength. We even gain blessings. We gain our power back, too. Not for ourselves, necessarily, but we win a battle. A battle of wills, a battle of mind and spirit over body, and a contest for our devotion.

We don’t have to observe this. Many Christians don’t. Many denominations have never considered it. It is not required. But if you do it, notice how much you start to doubt or weaken and WHEN. Write that down. Observe it. Take note of how you handle it. Are you craving a steak because you feel physically weak and you fainted? Re-evaluate your nutritional needs and the possibility of either changing your diet or giving up something else (and call your doctor!). Or are you craving that steak because it was a bad day and you passed a steak house on the way home and you’re sad? Okay, was it a bad day or was it a few short events that you allowed to undermine you? Is it always right after work or as soon as you wake up? Is it a habit that you do mostly from muscle memory and reflex? Write yourself notes about it. Or are you choosing to do this because you just don’t have faith that you can finish? That you aren’t strong enough?

You can do this! Stop listening to the negativity. Stop producing your own self-defeating thoughts and negative mindset, as well. Smile and know that you have strength enough to go without adding sugar to your coffee for 44 to 45 days (Yes, Lent is more than 40 days. Look it up.) because you don’t need to give into doubts or a lack of faith, even in yourself. You know what else you can gain by giving something up?* Knowledge of how to deal with your own doubts and temptations. You can apply those to many aspects of your life. Every aspect.

Just always ask yourself: “Who says I can’t? Why can’t I? Where is this coming from? Why should I believe this?” Now enjoy your fast.

*Yes, you may lose weight or gain muscle, too. This can happen, whether it is your goal or not.