It’s hard. But it’s worth it.

January 7, 2019

7:46PM

It's Day 6 of the 21 Days of Fasting and Prayer. I'm not following the Daniel fast perfectly. I've missed a day of the Bible reading on the Read Scripture Bible app. And by the grace of God, I've somehow managed to attend all of the morning sessions (except Saturday because of leader's retreat).

Just a few minutes ago, I actually finished writing another post. But God nudged me and called me out for my prideful heart, and I prayed that God would give me something else to write about.

The reason I shared how I'm doing so far in the 21 Days of Fasting and Prayer is to remind myself that I'm not perfect. Far from it, actually.

To be honest, my heart was filled with pride with what I had done so far. Basically, my heart was saying, "You're doing a good job. Way better than most people. Keep it up."

But God reminded me to be humble.

He reminded me that just an hour earlier, I was watching YouTube videos instead of reading my Bible. He reminded me that when I did start reading, I started falling asleep. He reminded me that I couldn't focus on praying.

He reminded me that this is hard. It's hard to follow Him.

And the encouragement to whoever reads this is that it's okay not to do it perfectly. 

It's hard to fast. It's hard to dedicate time to reading and meditating every day. It's hard to wake up at 5:20AM and drive to church. It's hard to get through a day of work right after. It's hard to keep that up for 3 weeks, or even a week.

It's hard when you don't feel like anything is changing. It's hard when you're falling asleep while you're trying to pray. It's hard to keep going when you want to hear God's voice and you don't.

But, no matter how hard it is, I have to remember to put my trust in Him. Even if nothing comes out of these 21 days, even if I don't receive any blessings or any reward, it's worth it. It's worth it to worship God. It's worth it to put my faith in Him. God counts my faith as righteousness.

Today's sessions reminded me once again that I need to pray. I have to pray for my many friends and family members who are not saved. I keep forgetting to pray for them, and these 21 days are a chance to renew that desire in my heart.

So to you who are reading, I guess all I can do is humbly ask, is God worth it for you? 

Is He worth your lack of sleep? Do you trust that He will be your strength when you are weak, and sleepy, and tired, and ready to give up?

Let's stop making excuses. Let's give God at least a little bit more of what He deserves: our worship.