Day 12: Don't Bow
Reading for Today
Daniel 3:16-18 NLT Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”
Now that you’re on the other side of the halfway point of the fast, you have probably learned a remarkable truth: Everyone offers free food when you’re fasting! Free donuts at work, free nuggets in your app, parties and events all seem to conspire against you.
Hopefully you can laugh about it now, but it is a reflection of a deeper spiritual principle.
“When you stand for God, the enemy will constantly pester you to bow.”
Ultimately, the enemy wants you to move your allegiance from God to him. Since the beginning Satan has always been jealous of the glory God receives and he wants it for himself. We have the responsibility to stand for God even in the presence of those who bow to the enemy.
The three Hebrew boys had to live this out. In a culture that was willing to conform they were determined to stand for God. Even when faced with life-threatening consequences they stood firm believing that God would never leave them. Likewise, we must believe in God’s desire and ability to be with us in challenging times.
Your task is to fight the temptation to bow. That means doing the small things like walking pass the free donuts at work. It means enjoying a salad on date night while others seem to happily eat whatever they want. It also means standing up to the test of preparing food for your kids that you can’t eat.
Not bowing also about standing up to the bigger challenges you may face. Like keeping your integrity when surrounded by others who do anything to get ahead. It means fighting for your marriage when it would be easy to walk away. Not bowing means staying the course when things are hard.
Remember that fasting reminds us that our strength doesn’t come from the food we eat but from the faith we develop. It’s more than saying no to food. Its about saying yes to focusing on the power of God in us.
Fasting Tip: Make a list of the temptations that you have fallen to in the past. Take note of any patterns that reveal the enemy’s plan of attack.
Day 11: Turn Up the Volume
Reading For Today:
1 Samuel 3:7-10 (NIV)
Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” So, Samuel went and lay down in his place. The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
Is it possible that what we perceive to be relational, emotional, and spiritual problems are actually hearing problems — ears that have gradually lowered and possibly deafened the voice of God? And it’s that inability to hear His voice that causes us to lose our voice and lose our way. Learning how to hear the voice of God is the solution to a thousand problems! It’s also the key to living in freedom and walking in our destiny.
If your life is off-key, maybe it’s because you’ve been deafened by the negative self-talk that doesn’t let God get a Word in edgewise! Maybe you’ve listened to the voice of criticism so long you can’t believe anything else about yourself. Or maybe it’s the Enemy’s voice of condemnation that speaks lies about who you really are. If you don’t silence those competing voices, they’ll eventually drown out the voice that matters the most.
Is God’s voice the loudest voice in your life? That’s the question. If the answer is no, that’s the problem. We live in a culture where everyone wants to have his or her voice heard but has so little to say. And that’s because we do so little listening, especially to God… but when we listen to God it gives us something to say that is worth listening to. Ultimately, all of us need to find our voice – the unique message God wants to speak through our lives, but finding our voice starts with hearing His voice.
Let me issue a warning, though – if you aren’t willing to listen to everything God has to say, you eventually won’t hear anything He has to say.
If you want to hear His comforting voice, you have to listen to His convicting voice. And it’s often what we want to hear least that we need to hear most. Trust me, though, you want to hear what He has to say.
Are you ready?
Fasting Tip: Intentionally spend time alone with God. Cut off the radio while you drive. Leave your phone in the other room.
Day 10: Check His Resume
Reading for Today:
2 Chronicles 20:20-30 (NASB)
“They rose early in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa; and when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, put your trust in the LORD your God and you will be established. Put your trust in His prophets and succeed.” When he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to the LORD and those who praised Him in holy attire, as they went out before the army and said, “Give thanks to the LORD, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.” When they began singing and praising, the LORD set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were routed. For the sons of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir destroying them completely; and when they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another. When Judah came to the lookout of the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude, and behold, they were corpses lying on the ground, and no one had escaped. When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoil, they found much among them, including goods, garments and valuable things which they took for themselves, more than they could carry. And they were three days taking the spoil because there was so much. Then on the fourth day they assembled in the valley of Beracah, for there they blessed the LORD. Therefore they have named that place “The Valley of Beracah” until today. Every man of Judah and Jerusalem returned with Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, for the LORD had made them to rejoice over their enemies. They came to Jerusalem with harps, lyres and trumpets to the house of the LORD. And the dread of God was on all the kingdoms of the lands when they heard that the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel. So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God gave him rest on all sides.”
Hey Friends! How are you today? It’s day 10 of our fast. Undoubtedly, you feel somewhat empowered but also somewhat wary. But today the word is simple. Listen, give thanks and trust! The last few days we’ve worked on tuning our ears to the voice of God and making sure we are in the appropriate posture to hear. We’ve explored the beauty of giving thanks! Today we tackle the simplest yet most complicated portion…trusting God!
The most significant part of our fast is learning to trust God. So many times, we struggle to lean into the presence of God. However, during this fast take the time to settle in to hearing the instruction and voice of God. Attune your spirit to seeking and knowing the voice of God. In Jeremiah 33:3, God tells us to call to him and he will show us great and wonderful things. One way to build our trust in God is to simply offer him praise. A unique but helpful way of offering praise is to simply call the names of God. When you can remember who has been, you will automatically know who he is! In essence, you begin to show his resume to your problems. Today don’t tell your God how big your problems are, tell your problems how big your God is.
Fasting Tip: Pull out your journal. Write down your problems and right beside them, write how God has come through for you personally or in the bible. Then praise God for his provision.
Bonus Tip: Wanting to go out to eat but unsure of what you can eat? Try the eggplant parmigiana from Olive Garden! For a nice change, swap the marinara sauce for alfredo sauce.
Day 9: Take a Step
Reading for Today
Matthew 14:27-31 (NIV) But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
Faith often feels like taking the first step without seeing the entire staircase. – Martin Luther King Jr.
Such powerful words from MLK resonate loudly with many of us today.
Following God often requires you to take a step of faith without knowing all the details or exactly how things are going to end up.
If we were to honestly assess our relationship with God eventually, we would have to admit that we fail to take the step of faith because of fear.
Delete Your Fear
Jesus instructs Peter to deal with his fear by encouraging him to delete it.
He tells Peter, “don’t be afraid!”
We have to do the same thing, when fear threatens our faith, we have to learn to remove it with the knowledge that Jesus is present.
Demonstrate Your Faith
Peter initially heeds the Lord’s command and steps out on faith. He leaves the boat and walks in water towards Jesus.
Faith means climbing out of the boat. The boat of fear, the boat of bad choices, the boat of depression and attempting to do what seems just as impossible as walking on water.
Develop Your Focus
Peter eventually began to sink – the bible tells us that he saw ‘the wind and the waves.’
Are you seeing the wind and waves in your life? Have you taken your eyes off of Jesus and begin to doubt the next step in your life?
Like Peter we too have to learn to keep our focus on the one who will equip us to do what seems impossible.
During this time of fasting we will be tempted to lose focus, but no matter what let’s keep our eyes on Jesus.
Fasting Tip: each time you feel the temptation to lose focus, use that as a reminder to pray.
Day 8: Nothing is Impossible
Reading for Today
Matthew 17:14-20 (NLT)
14 At the foot of the mountain, a large crowd was waiting for them. A man came and knelt before Jesus and said, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son. He has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 So I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.”
17 Jesus said, “You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” 18 Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy, and it left him. From that moment the boy was well.
19 Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?”
20 “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”
I remember it like it was yesterday. It was the final quarter and we needed a first down to secure the game. The opposing team had the momentum and was threatening to take the win. I felt the pressure of the moment, but I will never forget the words I said to our quarterback, “Throw me the ball.” I remember this moment because I can still see the shock on the faces of my teammates. The normally mild-mannered guy was all of a sudden confident and demanding. Thankfully, I rewarded their confidence in me by beating my defender and sealing the game.
I love to remember that moment. It means a lot to me because it was proof that I had grown. It was proof that I had made the right adjustments from my past failures. It was proof of a lesson learned.
“Our greatest victories are often birthed from our greatest failures.”
In Matthew 14, the disciples face what some would consider an epic failure. They have been hand-picked and trained by Jesus Christ. They have watch Jesus perform miracles and they have insight into His purpose and power. Finally, they have an opportunity to serve and show what they have learned, and they fall short. When someone in need comes to them, they lack the faith to make a difference.
This has always been one of my greatest fears. What happens when opportunity shows up and we are unable to step up to the moment? What if someone I love needs prayer and I have no idea how to pray? What if God wants me to heal someone who is sick and I’m afraid. What if God tells me what to say to encourage someone and I’m too nervous to speak up? This was the situation the disciples found themselves in.
Thankfully, Jesus has a solution for those of us who face periodic struggles with stepping into the moment.
The path to greatness lies not only in believing in yourself, but in believing in Jesus.
We’ve made it to week 2, now set your focus on putting your faith in Jesus. Fasting is meant to lessen our dependence on the flesh and the seen world so that we can see the true power of the unseen. Walk by faith, not by sight as you discover that nothing is impossible with God.
Fasting Tip: Develop a list of people you are praying for and pray about how God might want to use you to serve them in the future.
Day 7: Write it Out
Reading for Today
Matthew 8:5–13 (NLT)
When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer came and pleaded with him, “Lord, my young servant lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.” Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.” But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel! And I tell you this, that many Gentiles will come from all over the world—from east and west—and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven. But many Israelites—those for whom the Kingdom was prepared—will be thrown into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, “Go back home. Because you believed, it has happened.” And the young servant was healed that same hour.
We started this year with the mantra, that it’s going to be B!G! We’re on day 7 of our fast and truth be told, I don’t know about you, I’m more convinced than ever that there is something B!G that’s about to happen! But let’s face it, it’s hard. It’s hard to keep on praying, it’s hard to deny flesh! But the truth of the matter is, we have to latch on to one key factor, WE HAVE TO BELIEVE GOD! When we approach him with undivided belief, we find ourselves entering a new place of intimacy. Belief leads to a level of intimacy, that’s unmatched and unparalleled.
Allow me to clarify what I’m communicating. When I say believed, I am not simply saying that God wants to be believed in, I’m saying God wants to be believed. Believing in the existence of God is where we start but not where we should end. Belief in a cosmic creator in my opinion is logical and not necessarily spiritual and has little to no practical impact on our life. The Bible says demons believe and they tremble. When I say God wants to be believed, I’m divulging that
God deeply desires that we believe that He is exactly who He says He is and He will do exactly what He says He will do. This type of belief is what the Bible calls faith.
The Centurion of Matthew 8 is a prime example of having the right kind of faith. We know he believed in God because he broke away from his regular schedule to pursue Jesus. Somewhere in his journey, he decided that Jesus was more than just a man. However, his faith didn’t stop there. After Belitung God, he also showed that h believed God. At the mere Words of Jesus he goes home expecting that things were exactly as promised. Here is the point,
Believing in God can bring you to Jesus, but believing God can bring you to your miracle.
We must believe in both the nature and ability of God!
Believing God moves us from theory to practice. It causes us to act like we already have what we have asked for.