When the Soul Slows Down: What Lent Reveals About the Heart
How sacred slowing opens the heart to awareness, surrender, and deeper alignment with God
Lent Series: A Sacred Journey of Awareness, Surrender, and Alignment with God
This Lenten season, we are entering a sacred journey of slowing down, turning inward, and allowing God to gently form what is deepest within us. Each reflection invites greater awareness, honest surrender, and renewed alignment with His presence and purpose.
This season invites deeper awareness — something we explore more fully in the Reflect–Renew–Respond practice.
Lent is an invitation to slow down.
Not just outwardly… but inwardly.
It is a sacred season that gently draws us away from noise, distraction, and automatic living — and leads us into deeper awareness of what is happening within the heart.
Many people think of Lent primarily in terms of giving something up.
But at its core, Lent is about making space.
Space to notice.
Space to listen.
Space to become aware of what has been quietly shaping our thoughts, reactions, and spiritual life.
And this is where Lent and emotional awareness beautifully meet.
Because when life becomes quieter… the heart becomes louder.
Lent Is an Invitation to Awareness
In everyday life, we move quickly.
We respond without reflection.
We carry emotions without examining them.
We form patterns without noticing them.
But Lent gently interrupts this pace.
Through prayer, reflection, fasting, and intentional simplicity, we begin to see more clearly:
What we depend on
What we avoid
What we fear
What we cling to
What we try to control
What we have never fully surrendered
This is not meant to produce shame.
It is meant to produce clarity.
Awareness is one of the greatest gifts of the spiritual life — because we cannot surrender what we have never noticed.
Jesus Modeled Intentional Withdrawal
Before major moments of ministry, Jesus often withdrew.
Into solitude.
Into stillness.
Into prayer.
He stepped away from activity to remain aligned with the Father.
Lent mirrors this rhythm.
It is not withdrawal for the sake of isolation — it is withdrawal for the sake of alignment.
When we step back from constant activity and stimulation, we begin to recognize what has been shaping us beneath the surface.
And often, what we discover is deeply human:
Restlessness
Resistance
Longing
Fatigue
Unresolved grief
Unspoken fears
Hidden burdens
These are not interruptions to spiritual growth.
They are doorways into it.
The Courage to Sit With What Surfaces
One of the most transformative parts of Lent is learning to sit with what emerges instead of immediately distracting ourselves from it.
When discomfort arises, our natural instinct is to:
Fix it quickly
Explain it away
Avoid it
Numb it
Control it
But Lent teaches a different posture.
It teaches us to remain present.
To observe without judgment.
To bring what we feel into prayer.
To allow God’s presence to meet us in what is real — not what is polished.
This is sacred emotional honesty.
And emotional honesty is the soil where transformation grows.
Surrender Is Not Forced — It Is Revealed
Many people try to “force” surrender.
But true surrender rarely happens through pressure.
It happens through revelation.
When we see clearly what we are holding…
When we recognize how tightly we are gripping control…
When we feel the weight of what we carry…
The heart naturally becomes ready to release.
Lent creates the conditions for this clarity.
It gently shows us what we are holding so that we can place it — willingly and consciously — into God’s care.
A Simple Lenten Reflection Practice
If you want to engage this season more deeply, try this daily reflection:
Pause and ask yourself:
What surfaced in me today emotionally?
What did I notice myself resisting or clinging to?
Where might God be inviting me to release control?
Then bring that awareness into prayer.
No performance.
No perfect words.
Just honest presence.
The Quiet Transformation of Lent
Lent rarely feels dramatic.
It is subtle.
Gentle.
Quietly revealing.
But beneath that quietness, deep formation is taking place.
Hearts soften.
Awareness grows.
Attachments loosen.
Trust deepens.
And slowly — often without realizing it — we become more open, more grounded, and more aligned.
Not because we tried harder…
But because we made space.
A Gentle Invitation
If this season feels slower than usual…
If emotions feel closer to the surface…
If you sense God drawing your attention inward…
You are not behind.
You are being invited.
Let the slowing reveal what has been hidden.
Let awareness lead to surrender.
Let surrender lead to peace.
That is the quiet work of Lent.
Closing Reflection
Where is your heart being invited to soften, release, or become more aware during this season?
Sit with that question today.
You may discover that the greatest transformation of Lent happens not in what we give up…
But in what we finally see clearly enough to release.