Fasting, Work, and Retreat
Savvy Saturdays - 2/2/20
Fasting, Work, and Retreat
Hello friends,
Greetings from Austin!
I've been going through the One Desire Fast with my church this past week, and it's been really good. (If you haven't read my last issue, you can find it here)
Anyways, I've been praying over several specific areas in my life that I want to see God move in, and here are three main prayers I've been wrestling through over the fast:
A heart of forgiveness
An ability to cast anxieties (work, friendships, etc...) to Him
A more outward prayer for others (life group, issues in the world, friends, etc...)
As always, fasting is difficult because though I really want to pursue after God, it is hard to focus amidst a desire for convenience, hunger, and pride that desires to push through via my own strength for my own glory.
Fortunately, this video on the purpose of fasting gave me not only clarity in how to approach fasting, but also focus on the prayers I lift up.
As the speaker says, the grumbles of the stomach is not a painful reminder of the desire to take a big bite out of a meat-filled meal, but rather a reminder of the conviction of what we pray for, turning a time of hunger into a time of prayer.
I believe God has challenged me through this fast, and even deepened certain convictions that seeped into work.
In fact, on Wednesday God opened a door for me to share to my coworkers on my faith. We had a company lunch, and I accidentally booked a dinner to spend with a friend, and since I'm doing one meal a day, I had to decide whether I would fast from my company lunch, or from the hangout with my friend. I remember as I was staring at the menu and dreaming of the to not eat lunch with my team and instead just commit to fasting and sitting there awkwardly without food while everyone else ate.
And God was good!
People were curious and asked about it initially, and normally I would be nervous in sharing and timidly shy away and give a very curt response, but I guess I had a huge conviction to just share openly in the same way I would openly share to y'all, and I essentially laid out to my coworkers what type of fast I was doing, why I was doing it, as well as a bit about my experience, and to my surprise, not only did they listen, but they were open to also sharing some of their own personal experiences of fasting for health benefits or church too.
This really moved me when I reflected later, cause I honestly wasn't too sure what opportunity I had in the future to share aspects of faith as a Christian (a.k.a. what I do in my free time outside of work), so that was a huge praise God because this opens doors for me to talk more on faith with my coworkers.
In essence, God placed a conviction on me to be more vulnerable and open to other not only people inside, but also outside the church, and invite them into my life in the same way Jesus would invite others into His.
Congregational Retreat
On a separate note, our church is preparing for a retreat this weekend, and I'm excited for it!
The theme is "Calling", and I think it is a theme that can speak in volumes to everyone. (whether in faith, vocational work, future, relationships, etc...)
Personally, I am hoping that the retreat will be a good sabbatical from the daily throes of life and spend extended time focused on God. Additionally, I can't wait to hear over two aspects of our calling, that I feel the speaker will address:
General calling - the invigorating reminder to pursue after the Great Commission that Jesus calls us to.
Personal calling - the ways we can discover how to live out the uniqueness of our gifts, passions, and desires amidst the circumstances.
Will keep y'all updated! :)
Weekly Collections
Faith
Is John Piper Popular Because He Makes Christianity Look Intelligent? - Ask Pastor John
Refresh Your Soul with Humility - DesiringGod
Entrepreneurship
Productivity
Weekly Prayer Topic
Wuhan, China Corona Virus Situation
Pray for the families affected
Pray for wisdom for the country and the government in how they deal with it
Pray for medical personnel to have strength, endurance, and energy to provide the best care and pray for scientists to develop a cure swiftly
Verse of the Week
"'Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.' For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends."
- 2 Corinthians 10:17-18
Challenging Quote
"It is not humility to shrink away from the plain words of Jesus; it is pride, the fear of man and the love of the praise of man."
- unknown