Day 38 of 40 days of devotion
Written by Sue Wood
I will really miss reading the daily blogs that have been posted here throughout the 40 days of devotion. I have found them both encouraging and inspirational. Some have spoken of breakthrough and success, others have spoken of perseverance and the need to press on whilst waiting for the promises of God. However, the thread that runs through all of them is the fact that we worship a faithful God who longs to spend time with us and likes to have our full attention. He upholds us through the good times and the bad. He wipes our tears of joy and our tears of sadness. He wastes nothing and longs to see us grow in the knowledge of His love, His grace and His mercy. He has a plethora of gifts that He is waiting patiently for us to unwrap and He calls us like children to sit at His feet and listen to His voice.
Regarding my 40 days of devotion, how am I getting on with my prayer and fasting? What is the impact on my walk with God? Well, the fasting has not proved too difficult. My hunger for food still proves to be a feast for the Holy Spirit which is phenomenal. Finding the time to meet with my prayer partner on my day of fasting has proved trickier (two days out of four so far). Do I feel disappointed by that? Is God disappointed with me? I asked Him and He gave me examples of toddlers learning to walk and children learning to ride bikes or roller blade. I felt I heard Him say …
“What happens when those children fall? How does their earthly father treat them?”
” With kindness!” I replied. “He checks to see if they’ve hurt themselves, soothes their wounds and their bruised ego and helps them to get up and start over again!”
“Exactly!” He whispered.
Wow! That’s mind blowing! My heavenly Father picks me up, dusts me off and tells me to start all over again and all the time He is holding my hand and leading the way smiling over me.
Will I carry on fasting and praying when the 40 days are over? Yes, I fully intend to because it seems to draw me closer to God. Will I beat myself up if I muck up at some point? No, because there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8 v1) and God is pleased with my efforts.
Take heart because He is pleased with yours too!
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