Something Unexpected
by Rene Toyota, Administrative Assistant
Psalm 16:11 (NIV) “You make known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.”
During this 40-day fast, I have the opportunity to post on the website the devotionals written by our pastors, staff, elders, and deacons. The devotionals are about the fast, hearing from God, putting God first, putting others first, being a hero, being still, being bold for God, etc. It makes me feel kind of convicted actually. I want to be obedient to the Lord during our fast, but I can’t seem to do it right and I don’t always place the Lord before me. I feel like Paul when he wrote in Romans 7:18–19:
“And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.”
As I was apologizing to God for not always putting Him first, I heard Him say: “Don’t you realize that you have been drawing near to Me almost every night talking to Me about your day and telling Me how hard it’s been for you to stay on this fast? Don’t worry, I will show you what you need to do." In that instant, I felt overcome by joy and felt completely at ease.
God did show me what I needed to do. Unexpectedly, I had the sudden urge to help my husband with the aches and pains on his back, neck, arms, and feet by giving him regular Hypervolt massages after a hard day’s work. It’s not something I like to do because I have other things I need to do for myself, but I just sensed that God wanted me to take better care of my husband. He is a foreman, you see, who does a lot of laborious tasks like painting, busting concrete, scraping, washing, planning the execution of the task at hand, and supervising his team.
That’s God showing me what I needed to do. Taking better care of my husband and my family is the path He wanted me to take. My journey with fasting has shown me how much more important it is to listen to God and to follow His guidance.
If you’ve been struggling like me through this 40-day fast, why not simply ask the Lord what He wants you to do? Spend time with Him and listen. He might surprise you too with something unexpected. Fellowshiping with God and staying on the path He wants for us shall reap, as it says in Psalm 16:11, “eternal pleasures at His right hand.”
Prayer: Lord, may we always know that You, our intimate God, will never give up on us. Not even when we fail to fast correctly. Thank You that You are always within reach to help us remain on Your path to a life that goes beyond death and is full of generous joy that overflows with eternal pleasure in Your presence. In Jesus Name, Amen.
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