A #Lent26 Reflection
This past year, Terri and I have been focused on the quality of our sleep. Turns out, sleep appears to have a significant impact on my PTSD. PTSD has taught me the importance of daily rhythms, like our routines and rituals, as well as our circadian rhythm. Our circadian rhythm is something God built within us to govern our bodies in a natural cycle of light and darkness. It’s a crucial pattern that is essential to our wellbeing.
You and I are designed for rhythm.
We wake with light and we rest with darkness. When we ignore that by staying up late with our screens, constant stimulation, and little genuine rest, our bodies pay the price. Our fatigue increases as our clarity decreases. We get out of whack.
Our souls operate in similar rhythms.
Lent invites us into a greater awareness of God, ourselves, and the rhythms that shape our lives.
Spiritual Light and Darkness
In our spiritual life, we move through seasons of clarity and confusion, joy and waiting, closeness and silence. These cycles do not mean something is wrong. They simply mean we are human.
Lent intentionally slows us down so we can pay attention to these movements. It invites us to step into quiet reflection and examine what needs attention. It helps us identify the things in our life needing repentance, release, or renewal.
Just as nighttime restores the body, spiritual “night seasons” can restore the soul. What feels like hidden work or silence from God is actually a time of deep formation. Dark nights of the soul are formative, not condemning.
Living in Alignment
In the Bible, we a see how Jesus modeled rhythm by withdrawing to pray, engaging with people, resting, as He moved between action and solitude with intention.
Lent is an opportunity to realign our lives with that kind of rhythm:
- Reduce noise so we can hear God more clearly
- Honor rest as spiritual discipline
- Pay attention to what drains us and what restores us
When we live in alignment with God’s design, we experience greater stability and deeper trust.
This Lenten season, I pray we learn to embrace both light and darkness as part of God’s ongoing formational work in us.
I’d love for you to join in our global #collab4Christ as we observe the #Lent2026 season. If you’re interested, you can find more information and some guidelines here.
Until my next post…
Be salty, stay lit.
Rainer Bantau —The Devotional Guy™
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© 2026 Rainer Bantau | The Devotional Guy™ | All Rights Reserved
The Devotional Guy™ 
Amen 🙏
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Lent really is a gift, a chance to slow down, return to prayer, and realign our hearts with Christ. Jesus Himself stepped away to rest and pray, showing us that rhythm is Holy.
May this season help us trust God in both the light and the dark, knowing He is forming us with love in every season. ✝️
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