2020 VISION | Day 4 | Humbled!
“Since you died, as it were, with Christ and this has set you free from following the world’s ideas of how to be saved—
by doing good and obeying various rules—
why do you keep right on following them anyway,
still bound by such rules as not eating, tasting,
or even touching certain foods? Such rules are mere
human teachings, for food was made to be eaten and used up. These rules may seem good, for rules of this kind require
strong devotion and are humiliating and hard on the body,
but they have no effect when it comes to conquering
a person’s evil thoughts and desires”
(Colossians 2:20-23, LB).
Humbleness is something that is often overlooked when it comes to fasting. During a season of fasting, we as Christians are often tempted with the thought of, “If I’m going to fast, I want people to know it.” While talking to his disciples in Matthew 6, Jesus warns us about seeking attention while fasting. Jesus urges us not to make fasting obvious, for that is an action done by hypocrites with ulterior motives. Instead, we should keep our best appearance in front of others. This act of humbleness is pleasing to our God because he sees our heart, and if that heart is focused on him in secret, he will reward us openly. Jesus also warns us about using fasting as a way to be more spiritual than others. It can be tempting to treat fasting as a spiritual competition of sorts, but Jesus urges us not to imitate others in our prayer and fasting. When Jesus fasted, he had the will of the father in his heart. We must not fast to check off a religious box like the Pharisees; instead, we must fast so we can better understand the will of the Lord for our lives.
Prayer: Lord, I pray that as I seek your will, I will also seek your servant’s heart and humble attitude. I pray that in my weakness and hunger, I can rely on your spirit to sustain me through this season in public and in my secret place. Let your name be praised and let my name draw attention to you alone, my Jesus. Amen!
