Today is the day! Today starts our 21 day fast at Coastal Virginia Church. We do a lot of amazing things all year long. Memorial Day Celebration, Enchanted Christmas, numerous Connecting Points, even planting churches all over the world… But these next three weeks are by far the most important thing we do all year long.
So Why Fasting?
Fasting gives us the opportunity to break away from our social norms and listen to the voice of God. Let’s face it… We hear so many voices throughout the day. The voice of our spouse, boss, kids, friends, coworkers, etc… They are the loudest voices in our lives. And with so many voices competing for attention… we sometimes miss hearing the most important voice of all – the voice of God!
God still desires to talk to you! Are you listening?
In John 10:27 Jesus gives us the most vital part of our faith journey. He says… “My sheep listen to my voice, I know them, and they follow me.”
Jesus calls us his sheep. Sheep are dumb, slow, and have weird eyes… but they do posses one quality that is vital to their existence. They are great listeners. If they do not listen to the voice of their shepherd they will surely wander off and die. And here is the kicker… The voice of the shepherd is the most familiar voice a sheep knows.
The voice you listen to the most is indeed your shepherd! So who are you listening to?
Fasting is a way to break away from all the other voices and hearing the voice that matters the most. The voice of your shepherd. The voice that will take you to where you need to be and keep you from danger. And when the voice of God becomes the most familiar voice in your life… There is little chance you’ll wander off.
So Why January?
Truth be told… Fasting is something that can and should be done fairly regularly. Jesus didn’t say if you fast… but when you fast. It’s a great spiritual discipline. And it doesn’t have to always be food, or always be 21 days. You can fast a few days every month.
But January starts a new year. And we like to come together as a church at the beginning of the year to hear the voice of God for that year. We go into prayer asking God for guidance and direction for the next 12 months.
We are declaring that we want God’s plan for our lives this year… Not our own!
And when you set time aside to hear the voice of God… He is always faithful to speak.
I know this for a fact… God loves us. He desperately wants to have a relationship with us. He desires to talk with us. And when we listen to his voice and follow his lead… We will be on our way to the exact destination He has in store for us!
I want to encourage you today… Spend the next 21 days in prayer and fasting. Give up something that gets in the way of your hearing from him. Whether that’s food, social media, TV, video games, etc… And instead ask God to speak to you. I guarantee… He will!
We have written a 21 day devotional to help you on this journey. You can download a free copy of this devotional on our church website. Hope you enjoy it.
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