I am horrible at fasting. Just ask my husband what I'm like after missing even just one meal. It's not pretty.
But I do love Jesus and I've got to tell you, I have been DESPERATE for more of Him lately.
I have been in this fight for Immigration reform for a few years now, and boy is it a roller coaster ride. One day there is all this excitement and hope because a Republican Congressman came out in support of reform, and the next it seems completely hopeless because another Congressman says Immigration Reform is dead. Things have really amped up in the last year and specifically the last couple of months. There was excitement as over 600 conservatives, including many Evangelical leaders, gathered in DC late October calling on Congress to pass reform by the end of the year. Yet here we are, December 4th with only a handful of days left in the year and we've got nothing.
I have felt so discouraged and hopeless over the last couple of weeks. I have lamented to God about this and you know what He told me...pretty much as clear as day?
"Bethany, why are you putting your hope in man?"
"What God, No I'm not!! I pray all the time for Reform."
"But Bethany, if you are hopeless because man is not moving, then will you only be hopeful if they are moving? Put your hope in Me."
Shoot. He's totally right.
It's so easy to say my hope is in Jesus but it's a whole other thing to actually put your hope in Him. Like fully and completely in Him. I want to though, so so badly. Like I said, I am desperate for HIM. I am confident that my passion for this cause is motivated by my passion for God, but it is so easy to get swept away in the fight and lose sight of why we are fighting in the first place. It's not about meeting with important people, planning events, or influencing legislation. I need to return to what this is all about: chasing after God's heart.
While I've been wallowing over here a group of people began fasting on November 12th on the National Mall. You can read more about that here. As I've followed the story, something really stirred in my heart. I felt something in me say, "Go. Join them." That voice kept getting louder and louder and finally, I decided to listen. It doesn't make any sense, I know I can fast anywhere, I know God is everywhere and I have a one year old, for goodness sake!
But when God says "Go," you go.
This is my Spiritual Pilgrimage. I am going with an expecting heart and if I am honest, a nervous one too. Like I said, I stink at fasting. I get cranky, forget to pray, and usually give up. This time though, I know I will have to stick it out because I will be sitting with people who have been fasting for days and will continue to do so long after I leave. I know I will stick it out because God is good and He will sustain me. I truly believe that.
I am fasting for families, for immigration reform and most importantly, to set aside a space and time to align my heart with God's. I am fasting because my hope is in God, and God alone. Just as He will sustain me and the other fasters, He will sustain my friends and neighbors. He will deliver them. He will bring freedom. It's not a matter of if, but when. Even if man does not move, He will move.
Will you join me in this? Click here and see how you can!
