Running Fast

From Kara: The Lord continues to unwrap parts of my heart to experience greater intimacy with Him. Sometimes I'm receptive towards his promptings and have great times of fellowship with Him in the prayer room. Other times I find myself struggling to stay awake to engage in reading or prayer. I'm glad He knows our weaknesses. We serve a gracious Maker.

Speaking of graciousness, He's brought us into a season of learning and seeking to practice more of the discipline of fasting. We're reading "The Rewards of Fasting" (which I highly recommend) (Bickle and Candler) and it has truly opened my mind and heart to a discipline that is often neglected in the Christian circle for a variety of reasons (particularly in my life), but as the authors assert, it is and should be an integral part of our relationship with the Lord. It provides an avenue for breakthrough, insight, healing, and most of all tenderizing one's heart to greater intimacy with him. I won't go into all the details the book offers (as they also provide a clear outline of difficulties and dangers of fasting as well) but it has challenged me to seek an often intimidating and uncomfortable spiritual discipline.

Hence the graciousness. Fasting is just hard (at first). Thoughts of bread, pizza, and the buttered asparagus (??...oddly enough) danced through my mind this past week when I should have been meditating on the Lord and entering into worship. It can be easy to get down on yourself for this. Or, conversely, think yourself more highly than you ought when you are "bearing this burden." (Perhaps He thinks more highly of me because of my "sacrifice!") Oh little lamb. We serve a gracious Maker.

As the leaders have reiterated, with any spiritual discipline, the more we are confident in our relationship with Jesus and what he thinks about us (that he loves us and even LIKES us! And that we cannot earn this) we can experience the disciplines, particularly fasting, with an outcome of greater intimacy and tenderness from our Savior. And that makes it less hard. Even highly desirable.

This seems to be a discipline in and of itself, believing that God delights in me as a father delights in His children. It might take me awhile, but I'm glad He promised to continue this good work until the day of completion. And in the meantime I'll ask for an extra helping of grace. I am confident He will deliver.