Well, the 21 days of fasting has concluded as of Saturday, and it would be an understatement to say that God has revealed things to me through it. I'd love to share a couple things with you that I have learned through this time.
First off, if you are a believer and have not gone through a period of fasting before, I highly urge you to take part in it because of the spiritual renewal that it can bring. The idea behind fasting is to starve our bodies and our minds of something that we normally crave, and to replace it with God (reading His word, prayer, etc.) The perspectives that I have gained through the fast will be a big part of my faith story.
One of the things I have learned is that our God is a god who keeps His promises. Through many experiences during this fast, the Lord has consistently reminded me that He has uniquely brought me to the place that I am in my life and He wouldn't have brought me here unless He was going to sustain me through it. An example of this started January 15th when some people met at DayStar for a prayer meeting:
I took that time to pray through the Lord's prayer, and I began to present my requests to the Lord when I reached "Give us this day our daily bread". I prayed for financial provision, as I was at the end of my rope as far as money went, and proclaiming my faith that He would provide. After the prayer meeting, 24/7 took part in an outreach project. I had gotten a ride with one of the other students. When we returned, our day was over and I was beginning to get in my car when I noticed a piece of paper sitting on my driver's seat. That piece of paper was a check for a substantial amount of money that would provide for my transportation cost for several months. HOW INCREDIBLE! I was extremely humbled by this act of generosity from one of my friends at church, who had also been fasting and present at the prayer meeting. When I confronted him to thank him, he said that he had been praying for Kayla and I that morning and that God laid it fully on his heart to write that check. He had no clue of my financial situation, and he was sensitive to the Spirit, listening from his heart. I'm honored by that man's obedience, and I'm even more amazed by the grace and provision of our Lord. And even when I got home later that night, I had received some mail. One of the pieces of mail was yet ANOTHER check from one of my cousins, intended to go towards the honeymoon fund that Kayla and I have been trying to build up. Yet another thing I was praying and fasting for provision over. What an amazing God we serve! I know that story sounds fake, but I can assure you that's what happened. Even though I sometimes have to double check (no pun intended) to make sure I wasn't just having vivid hopeful thoughts.
Another thing that the Lord has revealed to me is to constantly keep a mindset of fasting; being aware of our surrounding, what we are feeding our bodies & minds, and if it's the best thing for us. The fast has disciplined me to the point of realizing that television, movies, and Facebook are hardly necessary, and can consume much more time than we normally intend; that it's so easy to get enslaved by the craving of food to where we almost get to the point of worshipping food itself without realizing it. I've noticed that even some things that are considered healthy for us can consume our time to the point of neglecting what God has for us. Moderation is a fresh concept to me, and to most of us due to the culture we live in, but it's something I want to pursue so I don't overwhelm myself with what the world says, and that I can fully live into the will that God has for my life, in hopes that I may affect others.
I could go on and on, but I like to keep my posts semi-managable. If you take something away from this post, take away these three things:
-God keeps His promises to us.
-God is more than worthy of our attention and love, but we are not worthy of His. But it's by His grace that He can look upon us as His sons and daughters, our sins covered by Jesus' sacrifice. So be aware of where you spend your time, and ask yourself how much you actually spend with Him.
-Entering into a season of fasting will bring a lot of perspective into your life. God will use that time to reveal new things to you if you are intentional about focusing on Him within it.
As I wrap this up, I'd like to grace you with a promotional video for 24/7 Greensboro. It will give you a brief view into what it is that I have been so blessed to be a part of these past 5 months, and 4 months to come. Created by our very own...Trevor Brock!
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