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The past 7 Days have been dedicated to fasting and worship. All of this as a preparation for a longer period of prayer and fasting starting January 20th! I am excited and a little nervous all at once.
For this past week I have been fasting social media (more specifically Instagram) and secular music. So I only listened to worship and did not have Instagram to distract me or to indulge in. Paired with this, I also only ate raw foods and joined the Heather Lindsey 21 day Journal Challenge. Overall it has been a great experience that has helped me quiet my mind and be more focused on the silence so I can hear Him better. It has also been a way for God to reveal my heart and the things that I need to surrender to Him. He has shown me things that were slowly becoming idols in my heart and so much more. This is why I know that God has so much more waiting for me on January 20th when I'll be fasting for longer. There is so much power in finding that place of intimacy with him, where your gaze is fixed on Him and you can ask all the hard questions and trust that he listens and will provide answers, clarity or just peace. One of the most profound revelations I got from this time with the Lord is that "Comfort in His presence in the reward" Sometimes we can be so focused on this one thing/miracle that we are waiting for that we forget to Rest in the Presence of The One that makes us Whole. So these past days were a way for me to start learning to rest in Him even though I may still have things I am waiting to see come to pass. To enjoy the present and all that He is doing TODAY.
On a more personal level, the Lord revealed to me that I tend to slow down when I am very close to the finish line. That's right... Prayer and fasting will reveal so much about the darker parts of yourself! So Saturday night, I had the most intense craving for rice crackers I had sitting on the kitchen table. I wanted to eat my raw salad BUT with my rice cracker. As I was laying in bed, I started to talk myself into it, finding all the reasons why having that cracker would not cause much harm. "I have been very consistent for the past 5 days! " "Tomorrow is the last day anyways" "Rice crackers are healthy. It's not like I will cheat with some greasy unhealthy food" and my mind started going on and on and on.
Then the Holy Spirit interrupted my self-talk and asked me WHY I really wanted to eat the rice cracker before it was time. His gentleness started to quiet all my self-sabotage and revealed to me that I really had a tendency to slow down when I see the finish line. I have a tendency to "almost accomplish excellence but not quite". And the Lord showed me that this was not his plan for my life. He wants me to develop more discipline to accomplish not only my goals but the goals He puts on my heart. Whew ... that sure was a wake up call.
I realised that what God asks us to do won't be easy. It won't be something that we can accomplish on our own. That's when you know it is something that will create greatness in you.
So, as I am completing my last day on this 7 day journey, I am pressing unto Him even more. I am leaning on Him and on His power so that He can give me strength.
I am wishing you a Happy Sunday!
xoxo
Ann-Sophie
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