Embrace Your Unique Gifts
Again the Israelites cried out to the Lord, and he gave them a deliverer—Ehud, a left-handed man, the son of Gera the Benjamite.—Judges 3:15 (NIV)
And when you fast, don’t make it obvious…for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting…But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.—Matthew 6:16–18 (NLT)
FASTING—GIVING UP something in order to focus on God—can draw us closer to Jesus, but only if we can do it without bragging. Jesus warns us to keep our fasting private so that we can focus on Him and discover the root of our needs, which Jesus can step in and meet.
Heavenly Father, today I will give up something that I consume mindlessly—social media, television, snacking—and focus on You.
Again the Israelites cried out to the Lord, and he gave them a deliverer—Ehud, a left-handed man, the son of Gera the Benjamite.—Judges 3:15 (NIV)
There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.—Exodus 3:2 (NIV)
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.—Romans 3:23–24 (NIV)