Week 16 - Fast as unto the Lord
This weeks challenge from the challenge jar is to fast.
"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Isaiah 58:6-7
Now that you have spent the last couple of weeks praying and journaling the year that was and the year to come, take some time to quiet yourself and set your eyes on the Lord. Read Isaiah 58 the whole chapter to get a real sense of what fasting is and what it is not.
"When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Matthew 6:16-18
Use this fast to condition your body and increase in self control. This should feel more like a cleansing than discipline. Use this time to grow in your hunger for the Lord. The bible says to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8), so use this fast to increase your time feasting on him and his word.
Be extra grateful for every meal you do eat, being ever mindful of God being your great provider.
For the purposes of this challenge, this is the requirements of the challenge;
· Fast for a single 24 hour period with water only, no food or drink other than water and the bible (bread of life).
OR
· Fast – water only – for a minimum of 12 hours a day for every day in the next 7 days. Bonus challenge would be to do a minimum of 15 hours per day only water
OR
· Fast – water only – during the dark hours. As soon as the sun goes down, only water until it comes up again.
Where possible, end your week taking communion.
THIS WEEKS READING
Psalm 69-73
Proverbs 14
Exodus 31-40
Judges 1-21
