FILL THE HOUSE

THIS IS TABLE ROCK FELLOWSHIP – PASTOR RYAN LADEN (DEVOTIONALS)

Fill the House

Have you ever tried to quit something “cold turkey”?

That is, have you tried to give up a long-standing habit by simply deciding to stop all at once? Sure, this is the fastest way to make a change in that habit, but experience has shown us that it is often the least effective method for making real change.

Habits are built into our lives over long periods of time. Some say that it takes thirty days to alter a pattern of action or thought in a significant way.

If we are really serious about changing one of these seemingly fixed habits, then we are going to need to put a lot of time, energy, and thought into this change. The habit did not form overnight, and it will likely take a while to see any real change.

Fasting

One of the ways that we can start to tackle our habits and hang-ups that we want to see changed in our thoughts and in our actions is through the spiritual discipline of fasting.

Most of the time, we think of fasting from the perspective of choosing to not eat food during a time of personal devotion to the Lord. That is indeed the most common example of fasting we can find in the pages of the Bible, but we can fast from all sorts of things in life.

Definition

Before we go further, allow me to offer a definition of a biblically guided fast:

To fast is to intentionally deprive yourself of a
normal part of your everyday life that will be
missed. And during this deprivation, we devote
ourselves to spending time with God through
prayer, worship, and scripture reading.

Replacement

Even in a fast from food, the principle is the same. As you experience the pains of hunger, or the call of the missing habit, we are to allow this discomfort to remind us to draw near to the Lord.

The missing element needs to be replaced with time in the Word, with personal worship, and with real conversation with God. As we replace the missing element with the things of God, we find ourselves in a place of reliance upon the Lord rather than on the missing element or habit.

Essential

Replacement is essential when you are fasting. We cannot just make room in our day by not preparing and eating meals and think this is going to do us any good.

In fact, if we do not replace the missing element with the things of the Lord, we might just find that other unwanted habits and desires will flood the open space.

Listen to the message of the Lord that follows to understand the need for replacement rather than simply emptying yourself:

“When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”

Matthew 12:43-45 NIV11

Filled

We are not called to empty ourselves and seek nothingness. We are called to be filled with the things of God. Jesus Christ was teaching those that were willing to hear this same message.

We cannot rejoice that we are free from sin thanks to the work of God and then just go about our own business. If we do not fill ourselves with submission to the call of command of Christ, we will find that sin will abound in us more and more, bringing us into further ruin.

Not Cold Turkey

Instead of quitting a habit in our own strength and of our own will, we need to fast from this habit and fill the empty space with the things of God, or else we can find ourselves in worse shape as other bad habits fill that space.

Reflection

· Today, as you consider how you might fast from that which has been plaguing you, consider how you can fill that open space with study of the Bible, with personal worship, and with times of intimate conversation with the Lord.

· Invite the Lord into the house, so that nothing else can consume what you have dedicated to the Lord.

In Christ,

Ryan Laden

OUR MISSION AS A CHURCH

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