2 Corinthians 4:16-17
16Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.
17For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,
This is a verse I constantly reflect upon. Its one of my mantras actually...especially while fasting. When the rubber hits the road there are simply some things more important than others. The eternal weight of glory IS beyond all comparison. Verse 16 is so true of the fasting experience. You become tired. Your body literally wastes away before your very eyes, yet you feel more at peace every day. You become more satisfied and content and confident with your relationship with God as one of his children. This is not because fasting and/or any spiritual discipline has earned this contentment. No, its almost as if you realize... "Why haven't I taken more time to solely focus on what he has been offering me all along?"
I talked to our high schoolers about fasting last night and was surprised that several had done extended fasts of up to seven days. I was quite excited and impressed until I found the longest of these coincided with the days before prom or during an illness. However, one of our teens is doing a Daniel fast...fruits and vegetables. I'm excited to see if he, like those exiled Israelites, experience any physical blessings from it.
.....Don't worry I'm not trying to get these young uns to do anything drastic while they are still in their physically formative years but I did want to impress upon them the gift they had been given. It is good for us to give up things for a time to reorient our priorities and facilitate our focus upon God's place of preeminence in our lives. I wanted to make it practical for them so I said, "For instance, you could give up your cell phone for a while." Only a few passed out.
Well life is good. God is good. I'm looking forward to day eight which is supposed to be a positive turning point regarding the physical experience of the fast. But its already been a blessing. Still doing water, although I did have a little piece of dentene? gum today. My breath was pretty raunchy. Sorry Shea if thats the reason you offered it. lol
10:30am 207lbs
This is a verse I constantly reflect upon. Its one of my mantras actually...especially while fasting. When the rubber hits the road there are simply some things more important than others. The eternal weight of glory IS beyond all comparison. Verse 16 is so true of the fasting experience. You become tired. Your body literally wastes away before your very eyes, yet you feel more at peace every day. You become more satisfied and content and confident with your relationship with God as one of his children. This is not because fasting and/or any spiritual discipline has earned this contentment. No, its almost as if you realize... "Why haven't I taken more time to solely focus on what he has been offering me all along?"
I talked to our high schoolers about fasting last night and was surprised that several had done extended fasts of up to seven days. I was quite excited and impressed until I found the longest of these coincided with the days before prom or during an illness. However, one of our teens is doing a Daniel fast...fruits and vegetables. I'm excited to see if he, like those exiled Israelites, experience any physical blessings from it.
.....Don't worry I'm not trying to get these young uns to do anything drastic while they are still in their physically formative years but I did want to impress upon them the gift they had been given. It is good for us to give up things for a time to reorient our priorities and facilitate our focus upon God's place of preeminence in our lives. I wanted to make it practical for them so I said, "For instance, you could give up your cell phone for a while." Only a few passed out.
Well life is good. God is good. I'm looking forward to day eight which is supposed to be a positive turning point regarding the physical experience of the fast. But its already been a blessing. Still doing water, although I did have a little piece of dentene? gum today. My breath was pretty raunchy. Sorry Shea if thats the reason you offered it. lol
10:30am 207lbs
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