Abiding Hunger

Last night began our church-wide 24-hour fast leading into Easter. I’m not going to blog more information on how or why you should fast. Pastor Scott has done that very well on his blog. Rather, I’m going to share a few of my thoughts about this fast.

I stayed up late last night. I had an excuse. The most bizarre soccer game I had ever seen was playing out on TV. The US women were in their second friendly match against Mexico in a week. They had played in San Diego on Sunday under ideal conditions and beaten their opponents 3-0. But last night they were playing in Salt Lake City in 4-6” of snow! As the snow fell, they struggled to keep their footing, knowing that one misstep could lead to a goal for the other team. They tried to pass the ball as you normally would, but it just wouldn’t cooperate. The ball was cold and hard and wouldn’t fly right. When it hit the ground, it stopped dead in the powder. And when they would try to run, you could tell that they were on the verge of frostbite. Yes, they still managed to win (1-0) but it was the ugliest, most interesting soccer match I had ever seen. They managed to persevere and prevail only because they responded to the horrible conditions by slowing down and focusing on the fundamentals.

After that game, I had a long talk with the Lord. I confessed to Him the difficulties of trying to live well for Him. Some days, it feels a lot like I’m one of those soccer players, struggling to just make it to the end of one more match, hoping that the next one will play out more like “normal.” I told Him how grateful I am that I don’t have to play this game alone. The God who saved me is the One who gifted and prepared me for any game He’d have me enter. Without His grace and power, I couldn’t even participate in the simplest scrimmage.

But He has blessed me beyond His own presence. When I look at the field, I see my teammates. I have a wonderful wife as a partner and a friend. We have two amazing daughters with whom we have done some incredible ministry. (I shouldn’t say anything more about them here. They are teenagers, embarrass easily, and I agreed to try to minimize those occasions.) I work with an incredibly gifted group of people and I serve alongside a number of dedicated volunteers, co-laborers in the battle and brothers and sisters in Christ. And I have an outstanding small group, people with whom I delight in serving Christ, people who have an amazing love for the Lord and a deep desire to remain faithful to Him and each other.

I took advantage of this Day of Fasting to slow down and focus on the fundamentals. I admit that it has been about four years since I did a 24-hour fast. This morning, even more than food, I want a cup of coffee! But I’m committed to taking the desires of my flesh and, starting with today, intentionally turning them toward the One whom I should desire above all else. I’ve taken my Easter Holiday day off today so that I can use that time, not to recover from the Easter blizzard, but to slow down and truly prepare for this amazing weekend.