Psalm 63:1 (NLT)
O God, you are my God;
I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you;
my whole body longs for you
in this parched and weary land
where there is no water.
The season of Lent is just beginning. It is the 40 (or so) days that lead up to Easter, or Resurrection Sunday. It is a time of reflection. A time of voluntarily giving up some comfort in order to gain spiritual insight.
During Lent, we are figuratively going into the desert, because the desert was where God sent His people to learn. He led the Israelites into the desert for 40 years, where he began to teach them His ways. John the Baptist went into the desert before calling people to repent and turn back to God. Jesus was led into the desert after his baptism, and stayed there for 40 days, alone, hungry, thirsty, and tempted by Satan. When he came out of the desert, he started his ministry.
In the desert, we are undistracted. We are away from things that dull our spirits and keep us from hearing God's voice. When the Israelites were in the desert, they had the opportunity to meet with God face to face. Do you know what they did? They refused to go. They told Moses to talk to him by himself (Exodus 20:18-21)
We spend a lot of time trying to distract ourselves from hearing the voice of God. We use food or other substances or activities to distract us from thinking about what we need to change. This time of year, we take a look at ourselves. This Lenten season, join us in the desert.