Lent Devotional Series
Dear Advent Life Ministries Church and School Family,
As we enter this sacred season of Lent together, Advent Church, Proclaim Church, our board members, staff, and school family, we pause to remember why we are here. LOVE is why we are here. As we move toward the cross, may these daily reflections prepare our hearts with humility, repentance, surrender, and renewed devotion.
________________________________________
Monday, February 16, 2026
Entering the Wilderness
“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.”
Matthew 4:1
Lent begins in the wilderness. Before Jesus preached, healed, or called disciples, He was led into solitude and testing. The wilderness was not accidental; it was intentional. It was a place of stripping, clarifying, and strengthening. Lent invites us into that same spiritual geography. Not to punish us, but to prepare us.
The wilderness exposes what comforts us too easily and what controls us too quietly. It reveals where we rely on bread more than the Word, affirmation more than obedience, power more than trust. For those leading ministries, this season invites examination beneath activity. For families, it calls us to simplify and refocus. For teachers and staff, it asks us to anchor our identity not in performance but in belonging to Christ. Lent is not about adding more religious effort, it is about removing what distracts us from God.
We do not enter the wilderness alone. The Spirit leads us there, and the Father sustains us within it.
Challenge:
Identify one “comfort” you lean on reflexively: distraction, noise, indulgence, approval. Consider limiting it this week as a way of stepping intentionally into the wilderness.
SOARing Together,
Shahna Clark
Principal
Advent Elementary Middle School
“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will SOAR on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31