Friday, January 25, 2013
Awakening: Day 20
Zechariah 7
In reading my 21 Day Fast plan today, I was challenged by what God tells the people when considering if they should continue with their fasting traditions or not. God reminds them that He has called them to "render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart."
Fasting is much more to God than just self-denial. We can deny ourselves what "we want" all day long and still not do the will of the Lord. We can suffer in vain when our reasons aren't valid.
During this fast, I'm so thankful for how God shook me concerning how I walk in Love. There has been something wrong there. I get so easily frustrated, irritated and tend to walk around with such a poor attitude in my workplace that unbelievers must surely think I have nothing to find joy in. I'm thankful for how God revealed to me my hard heart and poor attitude and by His grace He has been helping me change that day by day.
I'm thankful for how He's changing my heart's attitude towards my boss and that she's noticed in just a couple short weeks. I think she's still in shock, but I want this to become natural and no longer a thing that causes shock when "Mesha is in a good mood." I remember working with people who you knew the outcome of your day just by how "good or bad" of a mood they were in. It didn't make for a good atmosphere and I've found myself becoming that very person I 'hate.'
Father, help me to love like you love and give me the grace to find JOY in every day living. To find JOY in my workplace and be a promoter of peace. I pray Lord that you'd cause me to be one who is known for HOW I love others as you've called us to be.
I thank you for how you've met me during this time of fasting. For the discipline you've enabled me to have and the grace you've given me to walk this out.
I pray that once the denying myself certain foods and entertainment ends, that I would continue remembering and participating in deeper times in your word and communing with You, Lord!
Thank you for meeting me and hearing me when I call!
Amen!
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hey wow! i just wrote a post about the same passage. Great minds think alike. :)
ReplyDeleteSorry to jump in on your prayer, but speaking of denying entertainment, I got a good tip the other day.
I was talking to Jennie about what a waste of time Facebook is. For me, it was the first thing I did every morning before I even got out of bed- LAME! She told me she deleted the Facebook app off of her phone, and it's helped immensely. I did the same and don't plan on re-installing when my fast is over!
Because my phone is messed up, I've actually not had fb mobile for a long time and it has/did drastically change my fb usage. Now if I just stop accessing at work, I'd be back t once in the morning and possibly once at night.
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