Throughout Scripture, the number forty carries a holy weight, a rhythm of testing, purification, and transformation. For forty days the rain fell in Noah’s time, cleansing the earth. Israel wandered forty years in the wilderness, learning trust. Moses fasted forty days on Sinai, and Elijah journeyed forty days to God’s mountain. Each moment of “forty” marks a season where God shapes His people for something new.
This pattern reaches its fullness in Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1–11). There He faced temptation, embraced obedience, and revealed the strength that comes from relying on the Father alone. Lent invites every Christian into that same sacred space, a spiritual wilderness where God refines the heart.
There is another powerful echo: Jesus spent forty hours in mortal death, from His death of the cross on Good Friday afternoon to His resurrection on the dawn of the first Easter. In that profound silence, He bore the weight of sin, broke the chains of death, and opened the way to resurrection life. The “forty” of Scripture is never about despair, it is always about God preparing His people for renewal.
Lent’s forty days, from Ash Wednesday to the Easter Vigil, draws us into this pattern of grace. The readings of the season remind us of humanity’s fall (Genesis 2–3), the contrast between Adam’s sin and Christ’s saving gift (Romans 5), the cry for mercy in Psalm 51, and Jesus’ victory over temptation in the wilderness. Lent becomes a journey from brokenness to restoration, from testing to triumph, from silence to song.
In this Lenten season, Christians of every tradition are invited to rediscover the essentials: fasting from what harms, praying with renewed intention, and giving generously to those in need. These practices do not earn God’s love, they open our hearts to receive it more deeply.
A Lenten Invitation: 40 Hours With Christ
Consider embracing the “forty” in a personal way: set aside 40 hours throughout Lent for intentional time with Christ. Spend it in prayer, Scripture and devotional reading, quiet reflection, and worship, whatever draws you closer to Him. Silence your phone, open your heart, and let God speak into the wilderness of your life.
As you walk this path, Christ’s own journey, from wilderness to cross, from death to eternal life, will shape your heart. His silence becomes your strength. His victory becomes your hope.
Forty hours in the tomb led to eternal life. Your forty hours with Christ can lead to renewal, courage, and joy. Step into Lent with expectation, resurrection is on the horizon.
If this is my last post, I want all to know there was only one purpose for all that I have written; to have made a positive difference in the lives of others.
Anthony “Tony” Boquet, the author of “The Bloodline of Wisdom, The Awakening of a Modern Solutionary” and “The Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, A Devotional Timeline”
