Roaring Twenties FastIsampula

The Blessing of Lifelong Faithfulness

"Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers." (Psalm 1:1-3)

All the blessings God has promised in our lives do not arrive in a moment, but they come over a lifetime of seeking and pursuing Him. 

Doing a fast, or a mission trip, or giving radically to a capital campaign at your local church are brief moments, bursts of passion for God and all He has done in your life, but God wants to call us deeper than momentary passion.

God isn't calling us to live by our feelings and emotions, but by faith. 

I remember growing up as a young person and attending camp every summer. My passion for God would go to an all time high, and then a few weeks after it would all come crashing down. I just didn't feel the same passion for God, and for sharing the gospel as I did in the "spiritual high" of camp services and so many friends around me. Something broke through that mentality my senior year in high school. I was thinking I would go to camp two times that summer simply because it was my last chance and I loved it so much. However, God began to do so much in my life that year, including going on a mission trip and boldly stepping out to share my faith in Christ with others, that I simply did not need the spiritual boost of camp anymore. 

Something deeper was at work inside of me. The inner work and power of the Holy Spirit. A longing to spend my life pursuing God, to know Him more, and to step into whatever He has planned for my life. 

Fasting should help us move more deeply into this place of surrender. This place of commitment. This place of faithfulness. This place of longing for God. It is a deeper place that many Christians never venture to, but it is a place God is calling each of us to. 

Prayer:

Lord, call me deeper than feelings, emotions, and into a wholehearted commitment of faithfulness to spend my life seeking You. Make me a person full of faith and the Holy Spirit that affects everyone around me.

-Matt Brown