Enter 7

Change is difficult, it's uncomfortable, it isn't fun.  Change may require letting go of some things I enjoy, things I like, things that have become idols in my life and now own me rather than me owning them.  But what if through letting go, I discover that I've not even begun to scratch the surface of what God has in store....what if my possessions, my idols, are clouding my eyes from the "hope to which he has called, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe...that same power that he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead." (Ephesians 1:18-20)  What if I'm depending on my own strength, my own stuff for power and in essence saying, "no, thank you" to God who offers us the same power he exerted when he raised Jesus?  Hello, that might help in overcoming challenges I can't seem to surmount on my own; while I sit and whine, God is saying, "Let go and let me."  God predestined us to good works that He planned for us before we were even on this earth.  Am I missing my calling because I'm clinging too hard to the American dream and missing God's dream for my life? 

Enter 7:Staging Your Own Mutiny Against Excess.  I've mentioned before that I have really been struggling with God in certain areas of my life, many which hinge on my simply opening my palm and allowing him to pry from it what I think I need to live fulfilled, yet if I simply trusted Him to replace it with what He has in store, how much more purposeful will this life become and to His glory.  I believe I've grown far too comfortable with earning money, spending it on me and my kids, buying stuff because I can, because I want, not because I need.  It's brought me to a place of discomfort, robbing me of joy and peace.  Who'd have thought more, more, more would leave me empty, empty, empty?  While someone dies of hunger every 16 seconds, Americans are drowning in heart disease, obesity, and processed foods.  So, I read 7 in November, and I've been sitting uncomfortably on the precipice of letting go of stubborness and falling into obedience ever since.  Today, I jump.

7 is based on the idea of biblical fasting and encourages us to conquer one area of our lives each month, letting go of what holds us back, exploring the idea of global justice and mission and our role as Christians in that.  It is removing some of the clutter and junk in my life to make room for the Holy Spirit.  Why a fast? When Esther was to go before the king to plead for the preservation of her people, she fasted.  Daniel fasted and chose to eat what was healthy, shunning the rich cuisine of Babylon.  When Christ was readying himself to enter the mission field, he fasted.  When God was up to something huge in scripture, His people fasted.  I believe God is up to something in my life and in my generation, and I want to be prepared.  I love what Hatmaker says about fasting, "fasting is an intentional reduction, a deliberate abstinence to summon God's movement in our lives.  A fast creates margin for God to move...A fast is not necessarily something we offer God, but it assists us in offering ourselves" (21)  Or, as Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade says, "It is exchanging the needs of the physical body for those of the spiritual" (21).

So today, I begin month one, Food.  My husband and I will eat the same seven foods for a month.  And the winners are:  chicken, eggs, (not intended to imply I know which came first), sweet potatoes, spinach, grapes for me, trail mix for Trav, bell peppers, and brown rice.  What do I hope will happen?  (besides losing a few pounds)  I am not going to limit what the Holy Spirit can accomplish in this.  For once, I enter into something with no expectation, no preconceived notion; I enter with the prayer that I will make space for Him to move and move He will.  My prayer is to let go of what keeps me from Him, from what keeps me from truly surrendering all to Jesus.  Am I nervous?  Yes.  But excited to see what God has in store.  I'm ready for the transforming power of Christ to change my family and me into missional followers who think about how our behavior affects others, who are so in love with Jesus that we can't wait to let go of "everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and runs with perseverance the race marked out for us!" (Hebrews 12:1)