O my son, give me your heart.
May your eyes take delight in following my ways. Proverbs 23:26 (NLT)
Today my church kicks of a 40-Day Fast. We are seeking to hear what God has to say about the direction he is giving us. We can fast in a variety of ways. In short, you can do a food fast which is fasting from all food or a specific food or a soul fast. A soul fast is giving up something in your life that may be a distraction from hearing God’s voice (i.e. social media, games on devices, etc.) The purpose of a fast is not just to give something up but to add more of God in.
I decided to give up TV. Now, my schedule is such that I don’t get to watch TV every day. I don’t think I am addicted to it. But, I felt God saying this is what I have to fast from. I have to be honest. I was struggling with this. I couldn’t figure out why I was reluctant. I spend a lot of time with God; doing God-type things. I don’t spend a ton of time watching TV. What’s the deal?
I started praying about this yesterday, as I lamented not watching TV for 40 days. I came to the place where I realized that TV is my “comfort food” for my brain. It’s where I go to forget. It’s where I go to totally turn off and ignore everything around me. I decided that this was probably why I was struggling.
This morning, every place I turned in my worship was about surrender. It dawned on me that maybe God asked me to do this particular thing because it was the one thing I didn’t want to surrender.
I can eliminate any food from my diet. Been there done that.. There are a lot of mind over matter things I can accomplish. For some reason, this is different. And honestly, I don’t know why. But God does. And because he is asking, I am going to do it. I am going to surrender this.
I know in the process I will learn something about myself that i did not know. But more importantly, I am going to learn something about God that I did not know.
What is it in your life that God might ask you to surrender? Are you willing to do that so you can see him more clearly?