40 Days of Decrease

A Different Kind of Hunger. A Different Kind of Fast.

By: Alicia Britt Chole

Narrated by: Simona Chitescu-Weik

What if you fasted regret? What if your friends fasted comparison? What if your generation fasted escapism? What if your community fasted spectatorship? Trigger a spiritual revolution with this daily devotional for Lent.

Decrease life's unnecessary details and increase your relationship with the Lord so you can live in awe of Christ's resurrection! 40 Days of Decrease is a guide for those hungering for a fresh Lenten/Easter experience. Dr. Alicia Britt Chole guides you through a study of Jesus’ uncommon and uncomfortable call to abandon the world’s illusions, embrace His kingdom’s realities, and journey cross-ward and beyond.

Containing readings, refection questions, daily fasts, ancient quotes, and more, each day offers a meaningful consideration of Jesus’ journey and then invites you into a daily fast of heart-clutter—the stuff that sticks to your soul and weighs you down. You can begin your forty-day journey any time of the year, but you may find it especially meaningful as a Lenten preparation to live in awe of Jesus’ resurrection.

Each daily, 1000-word entry includes a:

• Devotion based on Jesus’ life
• Reflection question to guide journaling or group discussion
• Heart fast to inspire a tangible response
• Thought-provoking Lenten quote
• Optional sidebar into the historical development of Lent
• Suggested reading that takes you from John 12 to John 21
• Journaling space for reflection

In the same way self cannot satisfy self no matter how long it feasts, self cannot starve self no matter how long it fasts. Decrease—like increase—is only holy when its destination is love. Dare to live awed by Christ’s resurrection!

Accompanying tables and Scriptures are available in the audiobook companion PDF download.

Excellent Resource for Lent

This book is an excellent combination of devotional, teaching, and a well-researched history of Lent and its practices. Each day has three short sections for devotion, application, and a teaching on Lent that can be listened to in about 10-15 minutes. Each day also presents a different fast for that day, but not the traditional fasting that you would normally think of. These fasts include things like isolation, spectatorship, spiritual self-protection, criticism, and more. I am recommending this book to everyone I know who practices Lent. I am sure I will come back to it again next year.

Use for Lent or as a weekly devotional

This is a very thought provoking devotional for Lent. It could also be used for a deeper dive into your spiritual journey by using it as a weekly meditation.
My daughter and I have used it for the past few years for Lent and each time we read the book God provides new insights or convictions to strengthen our relationship with Him.

My favorite book to accompany my lent journey

Alicia writes with depth, conviction, gentleness, and grace to see all the perspectives of Jesus’s story and our own. This is my third time going through the book and I am just as moved as the first time. Every time I read it something new stands out.

Beautifully written

I am giving 5 stars because this book was very well-written and I enjoyed it on audible

Awesome devotional

This is an awesome devotional that allows one to approach fasting more relational than religious!