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Friday, December 30 – Sunday, January 1
“In Scripture we see several purposes for fasting. It’s part of the discipline of self-control; it’s a way of sharing that we depend on God alone and draw all our strength and resources from him; it’s a way of focusing totally on him when seeking his guidance and help, and of showing that you really are in earnest in your quest; it’s also, at times, an expression of sorrow and deep repentance, something that a person or community will do in order to acknowledge failure before God and seek his mercy.”
– – – J.I. Packer, Your Father Loves You
As we head into the New Year, I have already started planning what I am going to do differently during this next year. I have all sorts of great plans of exercise, prayer, better scheduling, be more consistent with these emails, more focused time on sermon prep, more focus, less distractions! If I am able to do the things that I am saying that I want to do in 2023, it will be a fantastic year! I will be a new me! I will be ready to go to new places! I will accomplish some of those things that I have wanted to do for a while.
I think technically what I am doing is reflecting on 2022 and thinking about what has disappointed me about myself and my actions over this past little while. Its not that I really want to exercise, its that I am starting to feel the effects of not exercising. I don’t sit around and think about focusing more – I am actually just frustrated about what has distracted me and kept me from being the person/pastor I want to be. And it certainly isn’t that I want to sit down and do a schedule because I hate schedules and I want to be free. To do lists are boring! Routine is just that, it is a routine and who wants to be stuck in a routine. But, when I reflect on the year, I know I could do more, be more, accomplish more, gain more.
I know that this is not actually the best practice, especially if it is not tied to an assurance of God’s love and a sense of personal acceptance of who I am and what I face. My plans for a new me in a new year are more about me and my disappointments in myself rather than a recognition of who I am or what I can do and be. It is a way to self-flagellate and it only hurts me and my relationship with God and self. It ends up being a way to stall progress rather than truly put me in a place to become my true self.
What I really need to do is let God love me while I pause and reflect on where I am right now and where I have been in 2022. There can be confession, in fact there needs to be. There can be an honest sense of disappointment in some of my actions, if there isn’t then there won’t be a true repentance. But, I need to imagine not what I can do during this next year, but to look for what God is doing in me right now. I need to recognize that being better isn’t going to please God any more. God wants me to let him continue to create me into the person he has created me to be – God isn’t asking me to become the best version of who I think I can be!!
That is why we as pastors want to call us all to a time of fasting and prayer as we approach the end of the year. We want us to honestly reflect on where we are and where we have been, but to do it in a space where we can be focused not on our successes and failures, but on God and our own thankfulness for what God is doing. Yes, there will be confession and repentance in this time, but it is more about grounding our past year and our new year in God’s grace and love. It is about remembering to be thankful for what God has done and what God is doing. It is a time of refocusing not on us or what we can do, but about connecting to God and opening ourselves to what the Creator wants to create.
So we will fast and we will retreat and we will pray. Pastor Michel has drawn up a great prayer guide for us to use during these three days. You can find that here. This prayer time is key for us as a church as we reflect on 2022 with thanksgiving, and refocus on the hope and possibilities of what God will do in and through us during 2023. Remember this is not about what we can do or accomplish. It is about creating a deeper dependence on God.
Please fast as you are able from 6 AM to 6 PM on Friday and Saturday – this means you abstain from food, but please drink water as usual. Also if you fast, please only do so for what works for you medically. Follow proper medical advice and practice for yourself.
Here are links to a couple important documents:
End of the Year Retreat Guide
Crafting Your Rule of Life – GTCC
