The Lenten season is a time of decision. It is a season when we cannot hide from the inescapable reality of facing some hard choices. We must decide if we will continue to live this life our way or if we will yield to God’s way. Lent is a time of spiritual challenges and one of spiritual decision-making.
The days ahead will require that we engage in an exacting struggle of the soul—an exacting struggle to extract the soul. Thus, these forty days must become a season of detachment. That is a struggle because we have become attached to things, people, places, desires, and ambitions. We struggle because we are not sure that we want to let go. Our inner struggle brings us face to face with the question, “Do I really love God enough to do this?” “Do I want to make the sacrifice?” “Do I want to cross over the Kidron?”
In asking these questions, we must know that we are not alone. The comfort that comes to those of us who serve Jesus is that he identifies with our struggles. When Jesus was entering into his last days of earthly ministry, he prayed in earnest to God. Although he had lived in total obedience, he knew that what awaited him on the other side of the Kidron would require a new level of sacrifice. Thus, before he crossed over, Jesus prayed—because he knew that once he crossed over that valley, his life would be forever changed.
The Kidron Valley is a geographical location that becomes symbolic of spiritual truth. It is located east of the city of Jerusalem. The name means “dark; not clear; murky.” South of Jerusalem, the Kidron turns into a wilderness and empties into the Dead Sea, where debris and trash accumulate. This valley represents the place of confusion and uncertainty in us, the irritation we experience when God is trying to move us into a new realm of the spirit. This valley becomes symbolic of our need to confront the darkness in us—our blind spots, the places where we have refused to see and where, for lack of spiritual nourishment, we are choking on the debris of life that is accumulating in our minds.
There is a danger that confronts us. If we don’t make the decision to cross over, if we stay on the other side too long, we will find ourselves emptying into the abyss of “nothingness.” To remove the fears doubts, concerns, and attachments that constrain us, we must turn aside as Jesus did and pray. Only prayer gives us the insight, the wisdom, and the strength to say yes to God and cross over the Kidron.
From “The Journey Inward – A Guide to Personal Prayer & Meditation” By Rev. Dr. Jessica Kendall Ingram