ashley.

Fasting, Day Two.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

There’s so much I planned to say about today and my experience with fasting and the turmoil I went through and the blessings I received.  I was distracted, annoyed, dismayed, and disheartened until I finally met with the Lord and found His strength.

At the moment, I can hardly believe my day only began about seventeen hours ago when I woke up to get ready for my biology class.  It’s unfathomable that so much happened in such a short length of time.  God taught me the value of my life and how much my time means to Him.  He showed me how every girl He has blessed our prayer group with is deserving of my time.  He presented a broken freshman and asked me to give her my time, even when my body is exhausted and it’s well past my bed time.  And I come out rejoicing, and realizing I was scarcely hungry today, except to spend time with my Creator.

How does that happen, God? And how can I explain it to others?

Fasting, Day One.

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.  And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Romans 5:1-5

Well, look! I survived my first day of fasting. :) I won’t lie — it was very hard, especially those last few hours before 7 p.m. when I allowed myself to have dinner.  I wasn’t sure what to expect, either, since this was the first time I’ve ever fasted of my own accord.

But I just prepared myself with a 6 a.m. breakfast and turned Twitter off on my phone and ensured that I was equipped all day with my Bible, my journal, a working pen, and Crazy Love by Francis Chan (which I’ve had for a year and am just finally getting around to reading).  I prayed in spare moments, especially in between classes when I’d normally go get a snack, and instead I ended up praying for the Lord to guide me and reading encouraging passages of scripture.  It was kind of haphazard, but I learned a lot and I bet the next two days will be even better when I’m a little more organized in my studying. =)

The passage from Romans is one that gave me great encouragement today.  I like practical application from the Word of God, and the passage almost reads like a bulleted outline of spiritual growth, which put suffering into perspective for me at just the right moment today.

And lastly, tonight in RHLM, my SLD Christina gave me a handful of little cards and told me that she’d written one for each day this week while I’d be fasting.  Each envelope has the day on it and she made sure I knew not to open them out of turn. xD The people I’ve met at and because of Liberty are just more reasons I’m so thankful that the Lord has blessed me despite how little I deserve to be blessed.

Fasting.

“Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions.  For I was ashamed to request from the king troops and horsemen to protect us from the enemy on the way, because we had said to the king, ‘The hand of our God is favorably disposed to all those who seek Him, but His power and His anger are against all those who forsake Him.’ So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and He listened to our entreaty.”

Ezra 8:21-23

So, here it is: I’m going to be fasting for the next couple days.  From 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. I’m fasting from the Internet (including on my phone) and, of course, food.  I’ll probably let myself drink juice and tea so that I don’t die during the day, but otherwise, I’m really very excited about this endeavor.

I can’t really explain my urge to fast — this is definitely the first time I’ve done it of my own accord and with no clear motivation.  There are a lot of unclear things hanging around my life at the moment, and I guess the best way to explain is that I just want to start off the school year on the right foot (even if I am a week or so late).

Anyway, I could really use your prayers this week! :) I hope to come out of this much stronger and closer to the Lord.