Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ...I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:12-14
Allow me to start with a quotation from CS Lewis:
No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. ... You find out the strength of a wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down. A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. ...We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it: and Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means – the only complete realist.
It’s the beginning of Lent, that season of penitence consisting of 40 days of prayer, fasting, and… giving up something? I remember thinking about giving up something for Lent when I was young, and trying to figure out ways to make it easier! Maybe I will give up something easy (no broccoli for 40 days!), or something that I didn’t like doing in the first place (no taking the trash out for 40 days!), or best of all, add something that I already like doing (ride my bike everyday!).
Like many periods in my life, I didn’t understand the powerful opportunity to practice SMART goal setting (click on video below); and self-discipline to bring me closer to God. In Lent, the intent is to prepare us for the Lord's Resurrection at Easter through repentance and contrition. Enhancing self-discipline is an important part of that. If we abstain from luxuries during Lent, we discover how hard it is to do alone, which is a powerful reminder to rely on God, with faith that he will give us strength and courage. Self-discipline becomes self-surrender…to Him.
So how do we approach this Lenten season of discipline and surrender? I believe the first step is to pick something that is high on our value list and set a relevant SMART goal (to do…what?). Fortunately, Jesus gave us an important clue about values when he told us to:
1. Love God with all our heart
2. Love other people as (or more than) ourselves
For me this Lent, my goal might incorporate something new to build love for God and others (praying at a regular time, reading devotions with my spouse, taking deep breaths when I get frustrated at work). Or, I may eliminate/surrender an earthly habit that works against my goal of trusting God (processed sugars, or TV in the evening, or short-tempered impulse). These are all opportunities to surrender my selfish desires, offer myself to Christ, and do something good that pulls me closer to God and others.
When that inevitable bad voice in our heads tries to talk us out of a sacrifice – ‘we’re too busy’ or ‘it’s too hard’ – we can counter with a prayer for self-discipline towards our SMART goals, asking God to remind us just how much we really need Him.
As Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians, we can “press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of us” and “strain toward what is ahead” with an eye on the true prize. CS Lewis reminds us how hard this truly is. But isn’t that really the point? Renowned theologian Henri Nouwen aptly stated that, “in the spiritual life, discipline means to create that space in which something can happen that you hadn’t planned or counted on.”
Maybe God has something surprising in mind for us and would love the opportunity to expand his presence in our lives. For me, the straying from my goal will probably start happening by Day 3 of Lent, but I plan to be ready to surrender this to God and create a space for opportunity during this season anyway. Blessed Lent to you!
In Christ,
Chris Robinson
