Humble. Day 2

"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." II Chronicles 7:14

A photo from camp a long time ago but it reminds me of a time of truly seeking.

 This evening I have spent looking up every verse in the Bible that deals with fasting that I can find.I have discovered that people fasted for many reasons. For healing, in mourning, in times of praise and worship. They fasted and prayed to intercede for other people, their kingdoms and their land. They fasted before blessing people and sending them into ministry. 

They fasted to show humility. 

By denying their physical bodies the things it desired, they were opening up their hearts to receive a spiritual nourishment.  Some of the websites that I have been looking at call fasting the ultimate form of humility. Now, I'm not sure if that is true, but fasting does bring humility. It brings a new understanding to the flesh and things that are Earthly desires. It clarifies how weak our bodies are.

"Man does not live on bread alone." 

How many times have I heard that verse and not understood? Because, I have lived my life on bread alone. God desires to be my true nourishment, but I have denied him of that when I fill myself with other things. Sometimes I feel so far away from God and I wonder where has he gone, but then I look at myself and think, "in what way have I even made room for God?" I fill my life with all of this stuff that I think I have earned or that is rightfully mine, but I leave no room for Christ. I decide what comes and goes. I decide what I do each day. I decide what I eat. I decide what I read. I decide what I watch on TV. I decide how much time I will spend reading the Bible. But where in all of those decisions do I have room for what God desires for me? When my life is so busy and so full, I have no room. 

        No space. 

This evening, I didn't turn on the TV. I resisted that desire to fill the emptiness with a busyness from the world around me.  It would be easier to give up food if I could fill it with something else to keep me busy, but that is not what fasting is about. It's about taking that time to spend it in prayer. To spend it making room for Jesus and letting him in. 

So tonight I practiced being humble.

I took sometime to seek God's face. 

After all, fasting without prayer is just a diet. And I want this to be so much more than a diet. I desire to see God in a new way. I want to make room for Him in my busy life. 

Truly make room. Not just pretend make room.You know what I mean right? Not just the "make room" on Sundays or before meals when I pray or the 10 minutes before going to bed. But to make room in all areas. By giving up something of myself so that He can fill it. When I give up something that I desire it is not to bring myself glory, but it is to teach my body that God is the creator and sustainer of my life. Nothing else will do. Nothing else will do.