The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent. Exodus 33:11
“Fasting is not only most useful for sinners, but is also advantageous, in certain moments, for the righteous, as we have shown above. By fasting for forty days and forty nights, Moses entered into the cloud and saw God as no one had ever seen him. God himself bears witness concerning this, saying, If there should arise among you a prophet to the Lord, I will be known by him in a vision, and I will speak to him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses: mouth to mouth I will speak with him, and face to face, as if one should speak to his friend. This unique vision was afforded to the prophet by fasting, and the face of the one who fasted was changed into a kind of divine lightning-flash of the unapproachable Light; and it gave to the prophet tablets inscribed by the finger of God.”
Hesychios of Jerusalem (d. 450) in Fasting.
I am having continued issues with my website. On top of that, we are getting hammered with a winter storm. I guess better late than never, here’s today’s post.
Let us lean into fasting, for through it, we shed our fleshly ways and, if the Lord wills, come to a place where we see him face to face.
This is a powerful reality, made possible by the the most useful discipline of fasting. It’s useful for everyone, both sinners and the righteous.
It opens the door for the unworthy to meet the unapproachable, for the supernatural relationship.
And in the Scripture, both Moses and his young aide Joshua come into view. It reminds me to continue to pour into the next generation.
This reflects the focus of my work with GTP. Discipling and empowering stewards to have a deep relationship with God.
And then teaching and coaching them to help ministries follow God’s righteous standards for flourishing and sustainability.
Right now I am praying for support for upcoming travel and program work in Ukraine (Project Structure and Project Tiny Houses), in Eastern Europe (Project Order), and the Eastern Caribbean (Mobilizing Caribbean PAGs).
Click on the words to see how your support could make a difference in those places. And our greatest need is monthly “where needed most” giving here.
And want to know more about fasting? Join the GTP Lenten Zoom on Fasting this Friday at 5am Denver time. Register here to get the link.