From Sticky Souls to Transformed Hearts
God’s command—from the glorious clouds overshadowing the Transfiguration of Jesus in the gospels—reminds us: when we listen and do whatever the Son of God says he will lead us from barrenness due to selfish living into righteous fruit-producing living for the glory of God. Self cannot satisfy self. We must hunger for God.
This is basically our journey for Lent, because sinful attitudes and actions try to stick to our souls and destroy our Life with God. Jesus wants us to produce righteous fruit that bring glory to our King’s rule and reign.
You can’t blame things for being dark if the light bulbs aren’t working. So we’re complaining about the darkness when the bulbs aren’t working, and the Bible says that we are the light of the world. —Tony Evans
Day 4: Fasting Uncertainty
We tend to run from the unexpected or uncertain things in life; both the known and the unknown can tempt us to fear. When the way seems dark, we turn to the light, because we want to know and see what is coming. Yet, the ways of our Savior are always rather unexpected aren’t they? I mean think about all of the biblical characters who initially struggled with uncertainty as they made a journey with God. These were godly men and women who moved beyond the fear of the unknown by trusting God.
Sometimes the things we go through feels like Jesus is indifferent to our pain; this can lead us into the dark realm of uncertainty. We know God loves us, but our pain of loss screams for relief. Maybe our image of Jesus becomes a bit blurred when the Lord doesn’t conform to our expectations. We must resist the temptation to put the Lord in a box of our human understanding or we will lose our way. We cannot fully comprehend the supernatural with our natural minds, so God lovingly takes us, by the Spirit, one step at a time.
How good of God to bring us revelation, so we can grow in our knowledge of him. Keep in mind our transformation is God’s motivation; he will allow us to taste uncertainty so we will grow and mature. Believers can always engage in the Spirit and welcome the light or revelation of truth; we should be shining the Light and helping each other stay on the path all the time.
In our passage today, Jesus declares himself as the Light of the world and if we know him we will not need to walk in darkness and uncertainty. Jesus is not artificial light; he is the True Light and revelation of God who never leaves us or forsakes us. Because he lives in believers, we can walk confidently in the Light even in the dark.
So, let’s fast uncertainty by keeping our allegiance to God’s Word, maintaining our hunger for righteousness, and treasuring our true spiritual family who cares about all of our relationships with God. Blessings for your weekend!
John 12:29-36 NLT
29 When the crowd heard the voice, some thought it was thunder, while others declared an angel had spoken to him.
30 Then Jesus told them, “The voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31 The time for judging this world has come, when Satan, the ruler of this world, will be cast out. 32 And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” 33 He said this to indicate how he was going to die.
34 The crowd responded, “We understood from Scripture that the Messiah would live forever. How can you say the Son of Man will die? Just who is this Son of Man, anyway?”
35 Jesus replied, “My light will shine for you just a little longer. Walk in the light while you can, so the darkness will not overtake you. Those who walk in the darkness cannot see where they are going. 36 Put your trust in the light while there is still time; then you will become children of the light.”
After saying these things, Jesus went away and was hidden from them.
Prayer: Lord, when we struggle with uncertainty, we will cling to your Word because you have promised to lead us into victory. Help us eat from the Tree of Life and be satisfied with the fruit we are given. As we walk in obedience we have the Light we need. We look to you for grace. Please help us move beyond uncertainty and find we have stepped into a new level of our trust in the Truth. In Jesus’ name. Amen.