The Lord has been speaking to me about resisting the religious mindsets that I so easily fall into. It is easy to get into the daily routine of praying, studying the Bible and worshiping but the difficult thing is to remember why I am doing these things. It seems like the more I do the disciplines the more I become familiar with God and the more I assume I know about Him. I’ve been seeking the Lord with all of my heart for the past 8 years and I know more bible verses than I ever have before but the temptation to become familiar with God is harder than ever. The temptation to go through the routines for routine sake or the temptation to assume I know deep things about God because I know the verses is harder than ever.
We were made to encounter God and the disciplines were given by the Lord as ways of positioning ourselves before Him. The Lord is reminding me again to humble myself before every verse as if I knew nothing about it. He called it a poor spirit in the sermon on the mount. But even more specifically He wants to encounter me with His desire and affections. He knows the greatest way to awaken my heart from a religious mindset is to reveal His desires, affections and emotions to me. We were made to encounter God’s desire for us so that our desire for Him could be awakened and set ablaze.
In Matthew 9:15-17, Jesus revealed a new type of fasting. He introduced a fast that would be birthed and motivated by longing and desire for God. It would not be a fast for revival or a fast to turn back judgment. It would be a fast that would grow the capacity of the human heart so that it could experience more of God. Jesus declared Himself to be a God of desire in the same passage. He connected fasting with experiencing Him as a Bridegroom God of desire.
He is reminding me of this fast because it shatters every religious thing. Experiencing His desire for me causes the disciplines of the faith to be fueled by desire instead of daily routine.
I invite you to fast this next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to experience more of God’s desire for you. Many people around the world have said yes to fasting the first Mon-Wed of every month and have called it the Global Bridegroom Fast. It is a lifestyle of fasting that cries out for intimacy with God and results in a heart that is plumb lined to the Psalm 27:4 destiny.
(check out the teaching section if you are interested in the Bridegroom Fast of Matthew 9:15)