Almost two months ago, I wrote about a call to sacrificial love. I have been wanting to write about the results of our community’s fast since it concluded at the end of January.
By way of review, one of the members of our community was diagnosed with lymphoma, so anyone who wanted to fasted on behalf of our brother for the month. Our prayer during this time was that God would take any benefit that we might receive as a result of our fast and credit it to our brother’s account.
Three weeks into the fast, our brother’s diagnosis was taken before the tumor board in our area, and the doctor’s were unable to find any traces of cancer! He was given a clean bill of health, and just has to follow up with his regular physician every six months or so to ensure that there is no return of the cancer.
As we wrapped up the fast, there was somewhat of a collective sigh of relief. We were all overjoyed at the fact that God healed our friend and brother. Not only that, we were looking forward to returning to our normal lifestyles of being able to eat what we wanted. God had other plans, but more on that in a moment.
It is amazing that when undertaking something like an extended fast of some kind that God will use that opportunity to bring up the things in one’s life that are not pleasing to Him. For example, within two days of starting the fast, I was very on edge about everything. My kids were annoying me. I was frustrated with my wife. My job was getting on my nerves. As I realized this fact, my natural reaction was to say that I was irritable as a result of not being able to eat what I wanted to.
While that may be the case on one level, there was something else coming out as a result of the whole situation. As I began to reflect on my attitudes, I realized that I wasn’t angry and frustrated merely as a result of the fast, but rather, I was angry and frustrated because that is who I am. When my flesh wasn’t being satisfied with what it wanted, I began to see the results of the sin in my life.
When something like this comes to light, we have a couple of choices: we can either excuse the actions (my frustration due to the lack of food), or we can cry out to God, recognizing that apart from Him, the truth of who we are comes to light. In other words, the fast, although it was done for the sake of another, was also our Father’s way of bringing me to a place of repentance for my own thoughts and attitudes. Not only was God seeking His glory in the healing of the sick in our body, but also He was pointing out my need for Him in this area of my life.
As we wrapped up the fast at the end of January, our pastor made another announcement. At the end of February, our congregation was going to host a pastor from Zambia Messianic Fellowship. Our congregation has been supporting this ministry for a little over a year, but this was the first time that we would actually be able to meet someone from the organization. Since the poverty is so great in Zambia, the challenge was put before us to continue our fast, but this time by fasting from extra spending.
The idea was that any money that we as individuals or families were going to spend on items that were unnecessary would be set aside and given to Pastor Alex Yalenga for the Zambian Ministry. So, movie money, coffee money, unnecessary grocery money etc. was to be set aside for Pastor Alex.
This may not seem all that difficult, but coming right on the heels of a fast in which we couldn’t eat whatever we wanted whenever we wanted it (my wife and I ate only raw food for the first three weeks of January, and only vegan for the remaining week), this challenge was ominous. I was feeling such a sense of entitlement. I was thinking that I’d paid my dues by fasting all of January, and therefore I was REALLY looking forward to splurging during February (can we say BIG JUICY STEAK AND COLD BEER?)
My wife and I really struggled with this particular fast for a couple of reasons, the first of which I mentioned above. Secondly, we live on a pretty tight budget as it is, and as a result, we didn’t know where we could take the money from to be able to give. As the month wore on, it became apparent that God was asking us to give until it hurt, trusting in Him to be the provider. For us, this wasn’t a matter of taking money that would have been spent elsewhere, but rather taking money that had been set aside for something specific already.
Two weeks into the fast, our pastor announced that he felt that God was leading our small congregation (70-80 people, including children) to give Pastor Alex $10,000. It must be understood that within our community we have many people that have been drastically impacted by the wavering economy. We have single parents, some senior citizens who live on fixed incomes, and many newly married couples that are struggling to get on their feet financially. Ten thousand dollars is a lot of money!
To make a long story short, our community really came together on this one. We were able to give Pastor Alex $17,000! God worked a tremendous miracle in our midst. However, I don’t believe that this is the main thing that God was trying to accomplish through the last couple of months. As amazing as it is that we gave so much to a people far more needy than we are, I believe that God was showing us that He indeed is our source, and He will provide in even the most impossible of circumstances. He will glorify Himself in our weaknesses.
As a result of the circumstances of the last couple of months, the relationships in our community have a newfound depth. We have demonstrated to each other that we’re committed to one another. We have persevered through some impossible circumstances and seen the hand of God work mighty things on our behalf. God is faithful. He is unchanging. He has given freely of Himself, and calls us to do the same with each other.
Since we are to be known by our love for one another, let’s begin loving one another. In the words of an old DC Talk song, love is a verb. If we are not visibly loving each other, then we must ask whether or not we’re really a loving people.
