THE FAST - Day 3
Tuesday, January 9
What Are You Weaving In Secret?
1 Kings 7:18-22 (NIV)
“He [Huram] made pomegranates in two rows encircling each network to decorate the capitals on top of the pillars. He did the same for each capital. The capitals on top of the pillars in the portico were in the shape of lilies, four cubits high. On the capitals of both pillars, above the bowl-shaped part next to the network, were the two hundred pomegranates in rows all around. He erected the pillars at the portico in the temple. The pillar to the south he named Jakin and the one to the north Boaz. The capitals on top were in the shape of lilies. And so the work on the pillars was completed.”
Devoción
The lilies atop of the temple pillars were so high they were unlikely to be seen from the ground. The bronze was more than could be weighed. Bronze was a key material for most bronze-age armies for its use in chariots, armor, and weapons. The lilies at the top of the pillars may have been unseen, but the absence of the bronze from the war supply would have been felt by armies that did not trust the Lord.
A common Old Testament word to show trust in God is the word “wait.” The Hebrew word is “qavah”. In addition to meaning waiting on the Lord with hopeful expectation, “qavah” in Hebrew was used literally by those who made rope. If someone were “waiting,” he was in the process of weaving weak strands of rope into the strong strands. In our waiting, this spiritual weaving is seen only by God – fasting, praying, seeking God in His Word, and private worship and devotion.
Thus, when Scripture says, “they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31), we understand that when waiting on the Lord, the longer one waits (“qavah”), the stronger the rope becomes! The longer we “wait” on Jesus, allowing him to braid our weak, broken lives into his life – the life of Jesus, the stronger we become.
Oración de hoy
Querido Padre Celestial,
Thank You for the Bible to light our way. I confess that fasting is a challenge, and I don't like waiting. In my waiting, help me not to be just waiting for the time to pass. Show me how You want me to deny myself, take up my cross each day, and follow Jesus. Help me to trust in his strength, so that the strength of Jesus would be made perfect in my weakness, as he lives in me. Help me to hold tightly to the rope of hope that I would run my race and not grow faint. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Aplíquelo hoy mismo
During the fast, don’t just do without. Replace the time and the focus with reading the Bible, praying, worshiping, and asking for God to prepare you on the inside for the year ahead. Each of these are described in Scripture as important parts of strengthening your inner being and your relationship with God. Like gazing on the lilies of the capitals in the temple, God sees these private pursuits and is pleased.
Recursos:
- THE FAST - Day 3 Prayer Focus; Pray For God's Strength. (Read Isaiah 41:10)
- Click the following link for fasting resources - https://www.freechapel.org/fast