Today I decided to dive into a new Bible reading plan on a popular reading app. I chose one about staying present and seeking revival. This specific plan goes for 40 days. I clicked on the built-in calendar and quickly realized that the final day of the reading plan is also the final day of the Race. (Disclaimer: I started this blog with 40 days left, but upon the actual posting we are down to 36!)
40 days.
I paused before typing this next sentence because I’m not sure how to word it. I have 2 very different avenues of thought here. The first is this: 40 days is nothing. It’s so short. I’m going to blink and it will be gone. No. That’s not okay. The second is this: 40 days seems like forever. I’m tired and ready to be home. Jesus was tempted for 40 days and nights and that seemed like SO LONG. It rained for 40 days and nights and Noah probably felt like it would never end.
So which is it? What is the significance of this final season of such an incredible journey? I think the Lord has a lot to reveal to me about this and so I started digging into the instances in the Word when 40 days and nights is a topic. It was even more prominent than I remembered.
Genesis 7 – “And now the flood was on the earth for 40 days. The waters increased and lifted the ark, and it rose high above the earth.”
1 Samuel 17:16 -“ For forty days the Philistine [Goliath] came forward and took his stand, morning and evening.”
Numbers 13:25 – “At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land”
1 Kings 19:8 – “And he [Elijah] arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God.”
Matthew 4:2 – “And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he [Jesus] was hungry”
Luke 4:1-2 – “And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry.”
Acts 1:3 – “He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.”
These are just a handful of examples, and beyond these there are countless references to periods of 40 years. Many scholars have recognized that Biblically the number 40 has come to represent periods of trial or testing. The final 40 days of the Race are proving to have lots of trials and tests. Whether its physical testing – like team members with parasites, legs that have turned into buffets for mosquitos, and achy sleeping pad bodies – or emotional testing – like missing home, feeling anxious about reentry, being tired of saying goodbye, or even being so full of anticipation that staying present is difficult – it’s not an easy season.
The testing that we are experiencing is not new to humanity. In each of the Biblical scenarios people were tired, confused, afraid, or waiting. Something happens between day 1 and day 40 that ultimately leads to the victory that the Lord had planned. What is it and how do we tap into that in these final weeks? As I continue to talk to the Lord about this I keep hearing the word “obedience.” When the people in the scriptures above were obedient to the calling of the Lord, good things happened. They were protected from danger. They were delivered from temptation. They were fed. They were refreshed.
In order to be obedient to the calling, we have to remember what the calling is. In times of testing it can get all to easy to lose sight what you have been asked to do. I took some time recently to look back at the vision that the Lord gave me coming into this year. It was all about intentionality. For me, obedience in these last 40 days means that I will seek the kingdom first by intentionally pouring into my squad, intentionally serving my hosts and their ministries, intentionally digging into the Word, intentionally praying into the next chapter of my life in the states, and intentionally listening to the Lord. Through this obedience I know that when 40 days ends the trials will have made us stronger in our walks with Jesus, the joy that we have chosen will have continued to fulfill us, and the victory will be the Lord’s in all things!
