Daniel Fast Devotional | DAY 01

Welcome to our first day of the Daniel Fast. These next 21 days we will be talking about how God can renew your life and spirit as you follow His perfect will.

“Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”
Proverbs 3:6

Day 1 - FIRST DAY!

Wouldn’t life be so much easier with some kind of blueprint? Some guide to help us cut through all the mystery and doubt. As if every time we ask God a question, we’d get an answer that tells us exactly what to do next.

That would make following God so much easier, right? At least, we think it would. And so, we try to create our own guide. We go to church, we listen to sermons, we listen to our Christian friends. We try our best to hear the voice of God through all these different avenues.

And though they may be edifying to our lives, and give us spiritual guidance - the fact is, that in most circumstances, God wants to speak with us directly - one on one.

God may never change, (James 1:17, Hebrews 13:8), but our relationship with him can. Our relationship with God can be ever changing, ever challenging (2 Corinthians 3:18). There’s always more with God. There’s always mystery. And there’s always something new.

But because we fear change and fear being challenged, we often cling to what’s worked in the past, or what’s worked for someone else. We try to take the path of least resistance. After all, wouldn’t it be easier for someone to just tell us how to live our life and what decisions to make? But that is not always the best way to grow and mature in our relationships with God.

Okay, so what do we do? Well, Matthew 23 says:

“Don’t set people up as experts over your life, letting them tell you what to do. Save that authority for God; let him tell you what to do.” (Matthew 23:8-10 MSG)

It’s good to listen to Godly counsel and receiving advice from your pastors and Christian mentors, but we also need to set aside some time to pray. We need time to listen clearly to what God is instructing us to do.

Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you. Ask where you might find him next-maybe in Scripture; maybe through serving in ministry; or on a short-term mission trip. Be still and patient in your search for Him, but also do something different, take a chance, and allow God to challenge you spiritually. Let him guide your thoughts. Let him renew your life as He fulfills amazing promises for you this year.

Devotional