2024 21 Day Fast Devotional — Day 5: Fasting Is An Exciting Spiritual Journey
“Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” – Joshua 3:5 NIV
In this biblical story, the nation of Israel is about to enter into a spacious and fertile land that will become their own. But this was no small feat. Forty years prior, they had left Egypt miraculously and were led on a long, at times, uncertain and exhausting journey by the Lord. How does Joshua ask warriors and priests to prepare to go in, ready to receive what God has promised? He asks them to “consecrate” themselves. He could have told the men to make sure all their weapons were sharpened and that all they needed for the journey was ready, but instead, the instruction was for them to be consecrated. And why would they need to be consecrated? Because God was about to do something amazing and miraculous! But for them to receive His amazing promise, they had to get ready – not just outwardly but even more so, inwardly.
Consecrate means to be set apart, to sanctify, to prepare. Their time of consecration became a spiritual fast to prepare them for what God was about to do. There were various ways Israel could get prepared outwardly, but there were two key ways they inwardly prepared. First, they drew near to the Lord and allowed Him to convict them of any sin that was displeasing or distracting them from doing His will. This is the sanctifying work that only the Spirit of God could do. Once the Lord’s precious cleansing came, their hearts were unburdened, free, and focused. For that entire day, the second part of their consecration was to fix their hearts on who God is and meditate on all He did. This would allow for such reverence, gratitude, and assurance to fill them, so that they may be prepared to walk into the beautiful work God was about to bring forth!
The truth is that we are all on a faith journey with the Lord, too. Just as Israel had to prepare spiritually to receive all His promises and wonders we, too, have an incredible opportunity during these 21 days to do the same! We are taking time to fast, so that we may feast more on the Lord’s goodness and faithfulness, and enjoy His presence. We are allowing our lives to be made holy and to prepare for what He will have us walk into to display His glory and power!
Prayer and Reflection:
Take time in a quiet place, and ask the Holy Spirit to show you anything in your life that may be displeasing or keeping you from doing His will. Remember, this isn’t a time of condemnation, but a time for your heart to be free.
Keep your heart lifted to the Lord because He wants to do amazing things through you and for you!