DAY28 OF 100DAYS SELF-REINVENTION SERIES - Fasting & Humility – The Magical Language of Every Religion – 2
“Oh Lord it’s hard to be humble when you’re perfect in every way”- Mac Davis
God was the one who made Ahab King, but the vicious circle kicks in. God gives us a gift and before long, the gift makes us think ourselves to be superior to others and God gets angry.
Jesus specifically teaches 'Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the kingdom of God'. The end objective of fasting is to bring about meekness, humility before GOD. If your fasting does not bring about any humility it may just be hunger strike. Fasting leads to self-abasement, humility, meekness. Many times, like the destruction meted on Ahab, we are afflicted when we have become arrogant. Read what the Psalmist says in Psalm 119: 67,71 “Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I obey your word. It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees”.
Don't let your good works make you lose sight of the need for continual humility. Like I said before, our good deeds will bring increase of every kind and when that increase comes, we will become haughty again. This was the problem that Job had in the bible. He did a lot of good things and was rewarded as a result. But when he became wealthy, he reasoned that his good deeds have brought him this greatness. He could not see that God was responsible for his increase anymore.
In his affliction, he continued to hold on to his guns insisting that he has done no wrong, proclaiming all his good works. You must take every step, both in words and in deeds to make sure that your good works have not gotten to your head. If God does not give you the money, will you boast about how many people you have given scholarships to? If God does not give you good health, will you be alive to make those proclamations that you are making?
The heart of man is very deceptive. But during a fast, we can unearth all the deceits. We can open layers of pretense, hypocrisy, and self-righteousness. Job did so much good that even God said of Job that he was blameless and feared God. After God blessed Job because of his good works, Job became proud and haughty, and calamity came upon him. For many of us going through difficulties in our personal lives, this is the most difficult sin to unravel. The ability to see that our curse is the result of our “self-righteousness.”
When Job was afflicted, 3 friends came to console him. Job was the religious example of everything that anyone might desire. He was upright, helped the poor, defended the powerless and his good deeds were known to all. Those three friends could not really diagnose how Job might get out of his predicament. Repeatedly, Job declared his innocence, proclaiming in Job 27:6 “My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.”
Job continued to swear that he has never slept with another woman, he has never taken what belongs to another man, he has been eyes to the blind… and on and on. His three friends could not help. I would wish that Job knew that our self-righteousness was like filthy rags Isaiah 64:6. Can you imagine that someone in bad need of redemption is holding fast to dirty rags that caused his sickness in the first place?
Elihu was a young man who knew about the secret sins of the heart and the folly of anyone holding fast to his righteousness. Elihu comes to correct Job and his friends. He tells Job to keep his righteousness to himself. He rebukes Job for relying on his good works and holding on to filthy rags. He draws Job's attention to the fact that no one is free from the hidden sins of the heart and that the path to freedom was for man to lay hold on God's righteousness.
?In Psalm 19 12-14, the psalmist writes
“Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.”
Job should have known the limitations of human willpower. Elihu gives Job a proper perspective of life, Job 33: 8-12. Finally, God shows up and sharply rebukes Job and his three friends for not knowing what the problem is. From a self-proclaimed righteous man, Job acknowledges his pride and falls before God in repentance, Job 42:6 “Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes”. From a remarkably high estimation of his credentials, Job suddenly hated his self-righteousness, and God healed him and restored twice as much of all that Job lost. James says in the New Testament, that God showed mercy to Job. James 5:11
Fasting coupled with humility is a spiritual cure that will restore anyone to wholeness. Like I said before, it does not matter what you have done in time past, fasting and humility will restore you swiftly.
The book of Esther shows how Modercai's fast caused the King to remember a good deed he did that was long forgotten; how Esther, Mordecai and the rest of the Jews fasted and overthrew the wicked plans of Haman. It shows us too that we can use fasting to undo any wickedness that is directed at us. I am convinced that we will never understand all the spiritual laws that cause things to happen the way they do, however fasting and humility coupled with prayers can always turn things in our favor.
In Genesis 29, Leah apparently marries Jacob by deception, but if you follow the way events reveal themselves in the scriptures, this is likely because Rachel had become full of pride. Imagine being Leah, you are the senior sister, and your younger one is deeply loved and preparing for marriage. In the ordinary lives of women, Rachel had all the reason to become proud. God sees this and moves Laban to give Leah to Jacob instead of Rachel. This is not all, God shuts Rachel's womb for her pride until the pride is destroyed. In the entire Bible, whenever a wife was hated, and her mate is loved and she becomes proud, the womb of the one that is loved is shut by God until there is humility. Genesis 29:31 “When the LORD saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless.”
In 1Samuel, Hannah is loved while her mate is hated, and God shut the womb of Hannah and open the womb of her mate. In verse 6, her mate begins to mock her, and Hannah became miserable and decided to fast and humble herself; and the Lord opened her womb, and Hannah gave birth to Samuel. I see a cyclical behavior that can only be managed by intentional fasting and humility. If this intentional fasting and humility is not there, we are bound to stay in our pain longer than necessary.
For this reason, I have equally concluded that no lineage can hold on to any advantage in perpetuity. Your humility today will bring you to wealth, and the wealth will bring arrogance, and that arrogance will be meted with judgment. You can, however, avert the judgment by regular fasting and prayer. Judge yourself instead of waiting for the judgment of God to bring you to justice. 1Cor11:31 “If we judge ourselves, we will not be judged.” Fasting is akin to judging oneself.
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