January 9
More Important Than Food
“I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.”
Job 23:12
Fasting carries with it a certain sense of desperation. We become so desperate for the presence of the Lord that we will forego eating. His presence is more important than trying to do what is necessary to survive. Job was most certainly a model of desperation. Having lost everything he owned, having lost his health, and having his integrity challenged by those who were supposed to be his friends, Job was desperate for the presence of God. He was desperate for a word from the Lord. Any struggles we may have with fasting will begin to fade when we allow ourselves to carry with us the same level of desperation that Job had. We may not have lost everything, but everything we have is ultimately worthless if we do not have the presence of the Lord. We may not have lost our health, but what good is a physical health if we do not have the presence of the Lord? Nobody may be questioning our integrity, but any sense of integrity we might have is utterly meaningless if we do not have the presence of the Lord. When we recognize the importance of His presence and His word in our lives, nothing else matters. Desperation becomes easy not because we lack His presence or His word, but because no amount of time in His presence or in His word can ever truly be enough. Fasting will not be a matter of duty or of discipline but of desire, because we will have reached the place where He is more important even than what we need to survive.
“I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.”
Job 23:12
Fasting carries with it a certain sense of desperation. We become so desperate for the presence of the Lord that we will forego eating. His presence is more important than trying to do what is necessary to survive. Job was most certainly a model of desperation. Having lost everything he owned, having lost his health, and having his integrity challenged by those who were supposed to be his friends, Job was desperate for the presence of God. He was desperate for a word from the Lord. Any struggles we may have with fasting will begin to fade when we allow ourselves to carry with us the same level of desperation that Job had. We may not have lost everything, but everything we have is ultimately worthless if we do not have the presence of the Lord. We may not have lost our health, but what good is a physical health if we do not have the presence of the Lord? Nobody may be questioning our integrity, but any sense of integrity we might have is utterly meaningless if we do not have the presence of the Lord. When we recognize the importance of His presence and His word in our lives, nothing else matters. Desperation becomes easy not because we lack His presence or His word, but because no amount of time in His presence or in His word can ever truly be enough. Fasting will not be a matter of duty or of discipline but of desire, because we will have reached the place where He is more important even than what we need to survive.
Posted in 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting
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