July 4, 2019
Ahh, the forth of July. In the United States, this is such a fun holiday. People usually go to the park or lake. They will SIT on a boat and go fishing. Maybe they will SIT on the grass and watch fireworks. Or maybe they will SIT on the couch all day and do nothing. It’s just such a nice day to just SIT around. But not when you are on the World Race. Or in my particular SITuation, not when the Lord has other plans for you.
I was spending time with the Lord early this Thursday morning when I felt a prompting. “Stand with Me,” I felt the Lord tell me. “Ok God. Sure. You know I’ll stand by You all the time.” But that’s not what He meant. “No. STAND WITH ME.” And that was when I knew the Lord really meant what He said, and He wanted me to stand all day with Him.
First of all, what kind of fast is this anyway? A sitting fast? And what’s even the point?
Yeah, a normal person would ask these questions. I would have before as well, but lately, not so much. At this point in my relationship with Jesus, I am finding myself growing in my desire to show myself as an obedient servant to Him in any and every way. I’ve even prayed, “God, I give you permission to interrupt me and my life to do whatever you want in me, with me, and through me.” And He delivered. One order of “testing your obedience,” coming right up! And what’s even more abnormal is that I said “sure” without another thought.
So I started standing. I stood for breakfast. I stood for worship and prayer with my team. And it kept going all day, even during our 4th of July get together with one of the other teams on our squad. Even during the movie we watched later that night.
What was kind of odd about it (as if it wasn’t already odd enough) was that I didn’t feel like this was a fast I was meant to keep quiet (as you normally would). But I think God was speaking something else to me. Usually when you stand with something or someone, you declare that you are not ashamed to be seen or associated with them. Sure, there were a couple of thoughts that filled my mind. “What will people say? Is anyone going to judge me or think that I’m *trying too hard* to be something special or *holier than thou*?” Interestingly enough, this day, my bible reading plan brought me to Matthew 5:11-12.
And it reads: “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Wow! Ok God. I see what you are doing! I shouldn’t worry about other people’s words and opinions of why I am doing this. I’m not doing this for them. I’m doing this because I believe You wanted me to. You knows my heart, and if someone has a problem with it, they will have to answer to You.
But you know what? My team was very supportive about it! They even reminded me about the story in Ezekiel 4, where God told him to lay on his side for over a year! So I guess this command isn’t super far-fetched then!
By the end of the day, I decided to take a walk in the garden at our Airbnb. I talked to the Lord about all of this, and He began to reveal some truths to me.
Here is what I learned, and these truths work both physically and spiritually:
- Standing with God can be difficult and uncomfortable.
- For one, everyone around you is aware of it. Often times, few people will understand WHY you are doing it at all. It’s not fun most of the time. Surely someone who would do this is out of their mind, right? Well, yes. But I’d rather be crazy for Jesus than normal anyway.
- When you are being active (for example, walking), it makes it more bearable and takes your mind away from your discomfort.
- You can’t keep up a “sitting fast” without drive, but when you are making movements towards a goal (ex: walking to the market, going on a walk around the neighborhood, etc.), you don’t notice it. Similarly, when you are making steps with the Lord and gaining ground for His Kingdom, your own problems and discomforts become minimized. You gain a different perspective and realize that any “discomfort” you may experience is bearable. You may not notice it at all after a while! It is you stay still and become idle that you begin to feel the full weight of yourself. Because if you stand alone, you will have to bear it all alone.
- The desire to lean on other things or sit becomes VERY tempting, especially when you see everyone else around you doing it.
- This is very obvious in the world around us. There are so many negative influences around us, and many of the voices around us tell us to just give in to certain temptations or ways of life. But our job is not to live comfortable lives, anyway. It is to be obedient to the One who calls us.
- The less obvious meaning of this truth is that it’s not always nonbelievers or sins that tempt us. Sometimes, we are tempted to disobedience the convictions and commands of the Lord with things that ARE NOT inherently bad (for example, sitting)! It’s so easy to look at a fellow Christian with jealousy or even frustration when you see that God is doing something else in their lives. But that’s not healthy. If you have enough time to look around and compare yourself to others, then odds are you have probably stopped moving forward. If that’s the case, you are feeling the full weight of your own burden. Don’t just stand there! Move forward!
This is soooooo true for our spiritual walks with the Lord. We have to keep going. We can’t stop or sit down. We are running a race, and we must run in such a way to win the prize! And the people you surround yourself with will either be an encouragement to you or they will hinder you. Lucky for me, I was surrounded by people that could hold me accountable. Surround yourself with the people that will encourage you to pursue the Lord and His commands, even when it seems silly or even self-harmful to do so. Remember, He’s a good Father that wants to give you blessings and work all things for Your good. Trust Him in that. He is the very definition of faithful!
In all things, be blessed!
AG
