There was a planned power outage in our neighborhood this week. On one of the coldest days of the year, we went 12 hours without electricity—no lights, no hot water, no internet, no heat. We opted to be out and about for the better part of the day, but there came a point when we just wanted to go home. We held a faint hope that maybe the outage would end early (it didn’t—in fact, it was extended by four hours).

As the sun dropped below the horizon, the temperature inside dropped as well. We lit some candles, dug out flashlights and headlamps, sent a tribute for takeout, and huddled together under piles of blankets. 

When the lights finally came back on, we all cheered with relief. The furnace kicked in, and our trial came to an end. We emerged from the darkness with a newfound appreciation for warmth, the ability to open the fridge, a hot shower, and the wonder of light. None of us in our right minds would cut the power voluntarily and hunker down in the dark.

So, let’s talk about Lent. 

Lent, which is the 40 days leading up to Easter (actually 46, but we don’t count Sundays in Lent), is a season traditionally set apart in the church calendar for reflection and repentance in preparation for remembering the death and celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

While observing Lent is not a mandate in the Reformed tradition, many have come to see the value of using the time for personal reflection and spiritual retreat. It’s meant to mirror the time Jesus spent in the desert after His baptism and before beginning His public ministry. 

Jesus, prompted by the Holy Spirit, voluntarily withdrew to fast and pray in the desert for 40 days. And at the end of this time, while He was suffering from extreme hunger, the devil showed up and tempted Him. 

What was the main temptation? It was for Jesus to stop depending on His Father and take matters into His own hands—to feed Himself, save Himself, and worship Himself. But using promises of scripture as His defense, Jesus withstood the temptation to break away from His fellowship with and reliance on the Father and sent Satan packing. It was a foreshadowing of another time when Jesus would withstand the temptation to take matters into His own hands, alone again in a garden in the dark. “Not My will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42).

The gospels record more than 25 times when Jesus put Himself in hard, desolate, and isolated places—on purpose. He voluntarily “cut the power,” and in His discomfort, He pressed deeper and harder into His relationship with His Father—and His Father did not disappoint. Paul tells us Jesus became obedient to death, even death on a cross! The ultimate desolation. And so “God exalted Him to the highest place” (Philippians 2:8-9). The ultimate fullness, Lord of All.

So, what am I saying?

We have an opportunity in these coming days and weeks to press deeper and harder into our relationship with the Father during the season of Lent. 

The prescribed way of doing this is by voluntarily putting ourselves in hard places, denying ourselves some of our creature comforts, taking time alone to reflect on the state of our souls, and returning in repentance and dependence to our Father. We voluntarily “cut the power,” so to speak, and collapse under the cross of Jesus Christ. We quiet and humble ourselves because we believe that the Father will lift us up (James 4:10) just as He lifted His Son from the grave on that glorious Resurrection Day.