theROCK

Fasting and Prayer

When reading Scripture, we often hear about how people are fasting. Fasting is usually combined with prayer. Jesus even fasted for 40 days in the desert. It was in those 40 days that Jesus was discerning his plan for changing the world. It was in those 40 days that the devil tempted him. It is in the 40 days of Lent that we strive to be like Jesus and shut down temptation and depend on the providence of God. 

When we fast, we should be drawn to prayer. For myself, fasting pushes me to think about those less fortunate. I think about how easy it would be for me to break the fast, but it isn't easy for them. I start to offer up this tiny sacrifice in solidarity with those who truly suffer. My suffering will pass while their suffering won't or can't. My suffering in experiencing temporary hunger is minuscule to the suffering Christ did for me. It humbles me.

That is what Lent reminds us to be - humble. In prayer and supplication, we find Jesus.

Quo Vadis

Recently I took a trip to a small town in central Wisconsin. I was headed to farm country, a beautiful part of the state filled with enormous hills and valleys. I typed the numbers and street into the Map app on my phone, only to discover that the address did not exist. I knew it was right, I double and triple checked it before I left. But this address simply did not exist in the GPS world. So I put in a nearby city, something to get me close to where I needed to be.

Needless to say, this was not a relaxing trip. The entire time I kept wondering if I was on the right road, heading in the right direction, driving my car to the place I needed to be. 

Quo Vadis. It’s a Latin phrase roughly meaning “where are you going?” What have you programmed into your internal GPS? Do you have a specific destination in mind, or are you traveling someplace nearby? Too often in life we simply move without thinking. We react instead of carefully planning our routes. To live a life of faith means having one clear destination, one detailed map that guides everything we do. It’s the only way we can be guaranteed that we’re on the right road, heading in the right direction, and getting where we need to be.

Ask yourself today: Quo Vadis? Then start programming your own personal GPS.

Let Go and Let God

Many of us are familiar with Luke 5:1-11, the story of when Jesus went out into the boat of Simon the fisherman. After teaching the crowds nearer the shore, Jesus tells Simon to go out into the deep and put down the nets into the water. Even though they had been fishing all day without success, they follow His command.

To their surprise, more fish are caught than they can handle! What a humbling experience for these men. They realize that what they have witnessed is nothing short of a miracle and their curiosity and faith lead them to drop everything and follow Jesus.

How often in our daily lives do we push aside advice from someone, thinking that our idea or plan is better than theirs? How often could we be ignoring a call from God for us to look at something in a new light or new perspective, believing we already know everything there is to know.

Too often we are wrapped up in ourselves and our lives and do not notice that God the Father is guiding us and asking us to trust His way of doing things.

Put down your guard, put away your pride, and listen. Listen to God speaking to you and follow where He leads you. Offer up to Him a task or a challenge you are facing, and believe and trust that everything will turn out the way God has planned.

Let go and let God.