More on Fasting
I know these aren’t usually my most popular devotions, but it’s where I’m at right now. There’s specific situations and people I’m praying for and there’s more of my own weakness and flesh I desire to shed. I, like many of you, am in a very strange season in my life. There’s been so much transition and I’m still in the midst of it. As pressure has been placed in some areas, I realize afresh what needs to be fortified, what needs to go and what needs to change. Thank God for pressure, without it we’d see no need for growth.
This current fast comes at a strange time. As I’m feeling weakness in my body, I’m pressing in for more strength in my spirit. As I’ve said before, I’m desperate for more of Jesus! I need increased clarity in my calling and a greater awareness of His presence and love. I desire to be a more usable vessel for His glory and to reflect Him the way He deserves to be represented. There’s times that I fail so miserably. Yeah, I’m ashamed to say it, but there’s so much He’s revealed these past few months...
What do you do when you’ve hit a spiritual brick wall in growth? When the season of rapid advancement has halted and the pressures of life and the attacks of the enemy begin to close in? You slap the him in the face as you use the trial to catapult you deeper into the presence of God. I recently wrote that desperation is not necessarily a bad thing, if it moves you in the right direction. With the realization of my frailty, also comes the awareness of my desperate need and dependence on a God who loves me so much and keeps drawing me closer! So, in the midst of chaos, I call out to Jesus, repent, lay the food aside and eat of His Word and drink deeply from the fountain of living water! The flesh may feel weak, but it’s glorious to feel our spirit become rejuvenated! We must need Jesus more than anything else! More than social media, friends, family, money, entertainment, food and every desire of the flesh. It’s in total surrender that we encounter Him on a new level, destroying the ceiling of limitation. In this place His presence is tangible and glorious. There’s no other desire present, but to intimately know Him. Yeah... that’s why I fast! Try it... it may not be popular, but it’s worth it!
Joel 2:12-13 (NLT) That is why the Lord says, “Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.” Return to the Lord your God, for He is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish.
John 4:14 (TPT) but if anyone drinks the living water I give them, they will never be thirsty again. For when you drink the water I give you, it becomes a gushing fountain of the Holy Spirit, flooding you with endless life!”
Psalm 63:1-3 (TPT) O God of my life, I’m lovesick for you in this weary wilderness. I thirst with the deepest longings to love you more, with cravings in my heart that can’t be described. Such yearning grips my soul for you, my God! I’m energized every time I enter your heavenly sanctuary to seek more of your power and drink in more of your glory. For your tender mercies mean more to me than life itself. How I love and praise you, God!
