21-Day Fast: We Did It!
It’s Time to Take Action
Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” (Joshua 3:5)
You are at a crossroads.
You can keep going the direction you were going before your fast, or you can step out in faith and take action on what God has been speaking to you.
You have spent three weeks fasting to draw near to God. And because he is God, he has responded to you. He has given you purpose and direction, and he has prepared you for what he has prepared for you.
If you fasted food for these past three weeks, you can’t end your fast by going to Country Buffet and filling your belly until you are bursting. You will make yourself sick. If you fasted Netflix or social media, you can’t jump back into being absorbed by those things for hours every day.
When a fast is over, you can’t just go back to where you were before. You’re different. You are focused. You have developed spiritual maturity. You have finally woken up and your spirit doesn’t want you to numb it all over again. God wants more for you.
So you stand at this crossroads.
What will you decide to do at the end of your fast?
Will you go back to the way you were three weeks ago?
Or will you step out in faith and into the purpose that God has been developing you for.
Maybe you are completely certain about what to do next. Maybe you are still seeking. No matter where you are, you have to take action. If you do not, you will remain where you were and your spiritual life will stagnate.
The Bible is filled with examples of God’s people stepping out in faith. Sometimes we can step into a path with clear direction, but most times we must act in faith before we even see God working.
- When the Israelites were finally ready to go into the land God promised them, they had to cross the fast-flowing, flood-staged Jordan River first. Joshua told the people,
“Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord—the Lord of all the earth—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.” (Joshua 3:12-13)
The priests who carried the Ark had to step with faith into the flowing waters of the Jordan before the waters would be cut off. They had to get their feet wet before God stopped the waters.
- In 2 Kings 4 there was a widow who had nothing and asked Elisha for help so she could pay off some debts.
Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.” (2 Kings 4:3-4)
The widow had to collect the jars in faith, and she had to pour the oil in faith. It probably felt weird to ask for jars, but she and her sons did it anyway. Then the widow had take the action of pouring the oil from the small flask into the jars. Not into just one jar or a few jars, but many jars. She had to keep pouring even though it didn’t make sense that there would be oil. And God kept the oil flowing as long as she was filling jars.
- When Mary came to Jesus and told him that the host of the wedding they were attending was running out of wine, Jesus told the servants to go fill bottles with water.
They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. (John 2:9)
The servants had to collect the water before Jesus performed his miracle. They had to take action even though they didn’t understand what would or could happen.
Nothing happens when you stay where you are. Nothing changes when you keep doing what you were doing.
You have spent the last three weeks asking God what he wants you to do, or what direction you should go. His answer to you is personal, but one thing remains the same for all of us; now is the time to take action on God’s purpose for you.
If we just step out in faith, we will see how God has taken care of every step we need to take. Then and only then will we begin to see how big God is.
As God said to Joshua, he will also say to you; Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9)