Category Archives: At His Feet

Fasting: What’s in your heart?

1 Reply

Fasting: What’s in your heart? You can catch up on the earlier posts in the series here!

Poor Jonah…If you do not know the story of Jonah and the whale, which is actually a big fish, here is the short version:

God tells him to go to Nineveh to preach to the wicked people and say that if they didn’t change their ways He would destroy them. Nope, no way in this world is he going to do that. So, he makes a beeline for Tarshish, via Joppa, and hops a boat, where he makes all kinds of trouble.

Think about this: Jonah actually lived in Gath-hepher, which was close to Nazareth in Israel. Jerusalem was approximately 30 miles NW of Joppa. But Tarshish? The contrast here is amazing. Nineveh was EAST of the Tigris River in what we call Iraq today. It was more than 500 miles EAST of Jerusalem! Tarshish was WEST of Jerusalem and Jonah’s hometown. It was at least 2200 miles from Israel and it was in the OPPOSITE direction, way down in the southern tip of Spain!

The men on the boat discover Jonah must be the cause of the mayhem, since the ship is about to sink, so he confesses that he is the lowlife they are looking for and even though they do not wish to do so, they finally throw him overboard.

Picked up by a giant fish, he spends three nights in the belly of this overgrown sea lion, not the most pleasant of accommodations. “Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish’s belly…” Jonah 2:1.

Confession is good for the soul…especially in Jonah’s case. ”And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.” Jonah 2:10.

Now what? Surely saying he was sorry was good enough and he could go back home.

Not so fast Jonah. “And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.” Jonah 3:1,2.

The second time. But this time Jonah was in no position to argue. He wasn’t about to; he didn’t even want to imagine where he might end up next!

Jonah heads straight for the city of Nineveh, a most wicked city where they burned their children alive! The third chapter of Nahum describes how the city of Nineveh had fallen into such depravity and wickedness. So Jonah immediately follows the commands of the Lord: he begins to preach. He tells them they must repent because in 40 days the city would be overthrown.

Do you know what the amazing thing was? The people believed God!!

“So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.”

The city of Nineveh believes what Jonah tells them, they heed his warning and believe in his God. They proclaim a fast and put on sackcloth (a sign of repentance and humility) even down to the least of them.

Word comes from the king himself, he takes off his robe, covers himself in sackcloth and proceeds to sit in ashes! He said,

“Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger,that we perish not?”

The entire city believed the Word of the Lord! The entire city repented! The entire city, and all of their animals, fasted! They did not even drink water for what appears to be three days. They humbled their souls with fasting and what happened?

“And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.” Jonah 3:3-10.

Did they change the mind of God? God is sovereign and He never changes but Nineveh DID change and the people were repentant so God showed MERCY on them which is reminiscent of His character. Repentance, a broken spirit, turning from sin and turning TO God for forgiveness will cause the Lord to reach out a hand of MERCY!

This is what Jehovah wanted them to do. It was not His desire to destroy the city or else He wouldn’t have sent Jonah there to warn them. It was His desire that they repent and turn from their wicked ways. Thankfully, this king had a repentant heart and turned his people back to God.

He humbled his soul with fasting and his people followed him. He saved an entire city from destruction by the humility of prayer and fasting!

“And God saw…And God repented….And He did it not.”

God always acts consistently with His Word, He never changes but if WE change, He will again honor His Word and show Mercy.

Two huge things to notice here.

  • God hears the cry of the people when they are warned and they humble themselves with fasting and repentance; God then spares their lives.
  • But Jonah had to be changed too. His heart was a mess! He didn’t want to share his God with such heathens; he literally needed a heart-change. He wasn’t even a happy fellow when they repented! You can read more about that here.

Remember, God may send you to Nineveh, to a specific place or a specific person, maybe someone you think is beyond hope or would never be interested in the Gospel. Maybe you have resisted that nudging from God because you just simply don’t care for this person. Today, consider they just might be like the people of Nineveh and respond to the Word. Look at your own heart and then heed the call of God. You just might help save a city!

If you are fasting for a specific purpose, salvation for a friend or family member, a job change, a financial need, a loved one with cancer or whatever the need might be…God hears your prayer. How He chooses to answer that prayer is entirely up to Him and His will. Petition your need, pray for His will and then allow Him to work on your heart, preparing you for whatever the answer may be. That is what fasting is all about, drawing nigh to Him so He will draw nigh to you and ultimately make you more like Jesus.

The Daniel Fast DevotionalSharing a recipe out of my book, The Daniel Fast Devotional. There are recipes after every devotion in this easy-to-read tool. Have you received yours yet? Get it here on Amazon in either Kindle or paperback version. It’s great for ANY FAST!

Cashew Salad

1 cup salted cashews

3/4 cup slivered almonds

1/2 cup sunflower kernels

6 green onions, chopped

1 head Nappa cabbage, chopped fine

Saute’ the nuts and sunflower kernels in a tiny amount of olive oil until just barely browned. Add to the cabbage and onions and top with oil and vinegar dressing. It’s delicious! Fasting unto the Lord, Nannette

 

Come to the Well

21 Replies

“The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Let anyone who hears this say, “Come.” Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life.” Revelation 22:17 NLT.

Let us just settle one thing at the very beginning: you do not have to “get good” to “get God”!

It just doesn’t work that way. And we can be so thankful that it doesn’t! We don’t have to work at our salvation. It is a free gift. We have to accept it. We have to Come…

Casting Crowns recorded a beautiful song, “The Well”, and the first verse is the story of so many:

“I have what you need, but you keep on searching

I’ve done all the work, but you keep on working.”

There we are, out there looking for the answers, doing all the work that has already been done at Calvary! He has paid the price, it is finished. Come…

Now look at the rest of that verse:

“When you’re running on empty

And you can’t find the remedy

Just come to the well.”

You’ve looked everywhere, exhausted all of your resources, but still you can’t find the remedy, the cure, the tonic, the right medicine to calm the ache inside. Come…

“Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” …The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?” Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”

“But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? …Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again.  But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

“Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.” John 4:7-15 NLT.

The woman at the well was the same way. She was a woman with a past…five husbands and the one she was living with was not her husband.

She finds Jesus sitting at the well. At this meeting Jesus breaks three Jewish customs. First, He spoke to a woman, second, she was a Samaritan woman, and third He asks a Samaritan woman to get Him a drink. This would have made Him ceremonially unclean by using her cup or jar. She was so surprised by His request!

She met Jesus unexpectedly. She even came at the wrong time. She purposely came in the heat of the day to avoid the other women and their stares.

But He doesn’t condemn her. He offers her living water and eternal life! Come…

“And all who thirst will thirst no more
And all who search will find
What their souls long for
The world will try but it can never fill
So leave it all behind
And come to the well”

The woman who was caught in the act of adultery was brought to Jesus by a crowd who was expecting her to be tried and convicted. But Jesus surprised them all when He said first to the crowd, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” Then He said to her, “Neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more.” John 8:7, 11 KJV.

Come-to-the-well-721x1024

Come…

“So bring me your heart, no matter how broken
Just come as you are, when your last prayer is spoken”

The sins of the woman at the well and the woman caught in adultery were not ignored or overlooked by Jesus. They were forgiven. Forgiveness is waiting for us when we are ready to confess and forsake our old life and walk in newness of life with Christ.  We cannot clean up our lives without the help of Almighty God. We must turn from our sin but we cannot do that on our own, we need His help, we need salvation.

Do not keep saying to yourself, “Once I get everything fixed in my life I will come to the Lord.” It will never happen. That is a trick of the enemy; he loves to deceive people in that manner.

Remember, you cannot get good to get God!

Click To Tweet

“Just rest in my arms a while
You’ll feel a change, my child
When you come to the well”

Come…

What a relief and a weight will be lifted from your shoulders! The woman at the well couldn’t wait to share the news! “The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, ‘Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?’ So the people came streaming from the village to see him.” John 4:28-30 NLT.

The lyrics at the end of the Casting Crowns song are so good. This list of things that you can be rid of for the rest of your life when you “Come…”

Your pursuit of perfection (leave it all behind)
Your fear of rejection (leave it all behind)
Your temporary pleasures (leave it all behind)
All your earthly treasures (leave it all behind)
Dried up empty religion (leave it all behind)
Rusty chains of addiction (leave it all behind)
All the guilt that weighs you down (leave it all behind)
Just leave it all behind and come to the well 

What are you waiting for?

Does God send suffering?

24 Replies

Does God send suffering? This is a big question for us to tackle. The best place to go is to the Word of God.

I know from the Word that the enemy, (the devil, Satan, ole’ Lucifer, the deceiver, father of lies, etc.), this accuser, is only allowed to put things in our pathway as God gives him liberty.

He has power on this earth, but only as much as God will allow him to have. As in the case of Job, God would not allow Satan to take his life. “And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.” Job 2:6.

Peter tells us that Satan goes about as a roaring lion “seeking whom he may devour”.  1 Peter 5:8. He is not content to leave us as we are, but will do everything in his power to get us “over on his side”.

If we believe God loves us, and of course we do, we also know He chastises, or corrects us, to help us learn and grow. Let’s look at this in the book of Hebrews:

“For whom the Lord loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives.”

“Scourge” here is defined as “…to punish with severity; to chastise; to afflict for sins or faults, and with the purpose of correction.”  (KJV dictionary)

 “…For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.  Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:6-11.

Just as an earthly father would correct his children, so does our Heavenly Father correct those whom He loves.

Do our physical ailments and conditions mean that God is chastising us? Even punishing us for something that we have done or that our parents have done?

suffering

Look at the story of the blind man that Jesus healed:

“Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.” John 9:1-3 NKJV.

Jesus then spits on the ground, makes a paste of the mud, puts it on the blind man’s eyes and tells him to go wash in the pool of Siloam. When he obeys, he is instantly healed of his blindness.

But Jesus makes it clear that the blind man has done nothing wrong, better yet his handicap is used for the glory of God! When he is healed, it is then a great testimony to the power of God.

The blind man did not sin. His parents didn’t sin; they had nothing to do with this man’s blind condition. Here, Jesus makes it plain that He is going to use this man’s handicap as an opportunity to work a miracle.

This man’s blindness was not a punishment from God any more than cancer, heart ailments, high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, etc., is to us today.

Yes, God has control over our sicknesses, He can take them away in a moment if He so desires.

But some things are allowed, or given to us, to make us stronger, or to help point others to Christ.

Click To Tweet

From the book, Walking with God through Pain and Suffering, Tim Keller shares, “Some suffering is given in order to chastise and correct a person for wrongful patterns of life (as in the case of Jonah imperiled by the storm), some suffering is given not to correct past wrongs but to prevent future ones (as in the case of Joseph sold into slavery), and some suffering has no purpose other than to lead a person to love God more ardently for himself alone and so discover the ultimate peace and freedom.”

If you are struggling with an illness or handicap, do not despair or even be discouraged. God has not forgotten you, He has not rejected you, nor WILL HE EVER! He can use your disability or short term illness for His Glory and you will be blessed beyond measure through the process.

Learning to trust Him, to lean upon Him and depend on Him for your very breath will find you at His feet. That is a most wonderful place to be!

Kingdom2