Lent feels like a burden today. I just want it to be over. Yet I know from experience this is the time to rely on my discipline. This is the time of greatest temptation. This is also the time of greatest potential.

So today in the words of Isaiah and Paul I pray:

“[God] gives power to the faint, / and strengthens the powerless. / …Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength / …They shall run and not be weary, / they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:29, 31)

“‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.’ …Whenever I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor. 12:9-10)

Reflecting on these scriptures does help – some. It dawns on me that I need to take time to discover that what I am now experiencing as a burden may actually be a gift instead. Why is it even at this late stage of Lent I still expect it to be easy?

“The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.” (Ps 105:8a)