The other half

I’ve been chewing on this verse, where Jesus says, “When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hyprocrites … When you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matt. 6:16-18).

Seems pretty clear. He’s telling us to fast in secret, not for show. He said the same thing about praying, He said to go in your prayer closet and pray in private. Prayer is not for show.

But I’ve always wondered, What about corporate prayer? What about corporate fasting? Clearly you can’t keep your church prayer meeting a secret — ha! And there are loads of examples of corporate fasting in the scriptures, I can’t even list them all, but let’s just say I’ve been overwhelmed by the amount of times godly people met a challenge, crisis, war, dilemma, or struggle with a call to corporate fasting. Obviously that can’t be in secret.

Lou Engle helped settle this for me in his phenomenal book, The Jesus Fast. He basically just says, of course corporate fasting can’t be a secret, just don’t make it a big deal.

It seems a fair overarching principle then, the essence of what Jesus is saying is, “Don’t draw attention to yourself.” In other words, “Don’t make it about you.” This applies to fasting, praying, giving, anything. Right?

Serve Jesus faithfully, obey fully, and don’t make it about you.

Draw attention to Jesus. 

The end.

For now, I would love to just draw your attention once again to the book I mentioned before, The Jesus Fast. It’s an absolute steal on Amazon, a buy you won’t regret.

So far, it’s been interesting how the Lord has directed a sort of theme, or overarching impression each day. One of the most prominent has been this: Holy Obedience: going with God the other half of the way.

One of my reads (slowly reading and chewing on and praying through) has been A Testament of Devotion by Thomas Kelly. I’ve quoted this book often, but only because I’ve seen the quotes in other books, I’ve never actually read it! I figured it was time. Wow. Talk about timely. Written in 1941, it’s right on time for today:

“‘There are plenty to follow our Lord half-way, but not the other half. They will give up possessions, friends, and honors, but it touches them too closely to disown themselves.’ It is just this astonishing life which is willing to follow Him the other half, sincerely to disown itself, this life which intends complete obedience, without any reservations, that I would propose to you in all humility, in all boldness, in all seriousness. I mean this literally, utterly, completely, and I mean it for you and for me — commit your lives in unreserved obedience to Him.

If you don’t realize the revolutionary explosiveness of this proposal you don’t understand what I mean. Only now and then comes a man or woman who, like John Woolman or Francis of Assisi, is willing to be utterly obedient, to go the other half, to follow God’s faintest whisper. But when such a commitment comes in a human life, God breaks through, miracles are wrought, world-renewing divine forces are released, history changes” (26).

This week I heard the glorious, beautiful song by Lindy Conant and the Circuit Riders, Take Courage. She sings,

“There’s a YES in our hearts, and it carries to eternity. Simple obedience changes history.”

Yes. That’s it. The yes. Live the yes. Go the other half. When this kind of complete obedience comes in a human life, God breaks through, miracles are wrought, world-renewing divine forces are released …

… history changes.

{Asking God to work in us this glorious holy obedience, the YES in our hearts that changes history. Thank you for reading.}