Clarity, Courage, and Breakthroughs

Have you ever been in need of clarity, courage, or a breakthrough in your life?  I have; and I've found that I'm not the only one to seek one or all of these.  Surprised?  Probably not, but what may surprise you is that the Bible is full of examples of men and women who were seeking one of these three gems.

How are we supposed to find the clarity to know what God desires of us?  Were can we find the courage to do the difficult tasks that seem impossible?  When sin seems to constantly entrap us, what can we do to breakthrough?

The spiritual discipline of fasting is designed to answer these questions and many more.

At the Heart of Fasting is this definition:

             Fasting is the spiritual discipline of refraining from food

 for a period of time to focus on God.

Many benefits are connected with a fast: physical, emotional, and spiritual.

You may have some questions about fasting...
But why fast?  The short answer is because Jesus told those that follow Him to fast.  [“Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. Matthew 6:16-17]

Why food?  If you think about it food is the one thing that every person desires; in fact, food is one of the top three essentials necessary to survive.  We place such a high priority on food that for some it is an idol.  God is to be THE top priority and by fasting we are reminded of this fact.  Fasts also vary from absolute fasts (not eating or drinking), to normal fasts (refraining from all food and drinking lots of water), to partial fasts (cutting out choice foods from your diet).

How long does a fast last?  Biblical examples of fasts stretch from short fasts of 24 hrs. to longer fasts of up to 40 days.

What is the point?  The point is not to will yourself to complete the task, but to pray and be obedient to God for the length and type of fast in which you partake.  When we fast it is to focus on God, what He desires, what He directs.  You may enter a fast with one goal in mind and somewhere during the course find that God is leading you in a completely different direction.

The Old Testament prophet Joel called the people of Judah seek clarity, courage, and breakthroughs from sin by "Consecrating a holy fast and a sacred assembly." [Consecrate a fast, Proclaim a solemn assembly;      Gather the elders And all the inhabitants of the land To the house of the LORD your God, And cry out to the LORD. Joel 1:14]

I would suggest that if we would like to find clarity, courage, and breakthroughs in our lives we should do the same.

For the full message shared on 02-19-12 at the  First Church of God - Racine, WI go to:
http://www.esnips.com/displayimage.php?pid=33688997