Fasting - Day 2 - What About Failure?

At its core - what is fasting?  It does not recommend me to God.  It doesn't add to a list of items that are weighed in a balance indicating I'm now 'good enough' for salvation.  It is not a 'requirement' for salvation or even for a walk with Jesus.  Fasting is a declaration before the world and the spiritual realm that I am serious and intentional about wanting closeness with my Creator.


So what if I 'fail'?  That is  the beauty of fasting - here, failure is not an option.  Declaring I want closeness to God is not something I CAN fail at.  Any attempt I make to draw near to God, He returns abundantly beyond my effort.  The Bible clearly says:

James 4:8 (NASB)
8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

The gift is in the promise - draw near and HE WILL draw near to you.  The  promise is sure, it is certain.  The reminder in the second sentence of the verse is provided so to put to rest my fears, my anxieties.  For it reminds me I am born in sin - I'm a sinner because I was born that way - not because of what I do.  And yet, I am double-minded if you will.  My heart is sinful, but praise God He planted 'enmity' in the human heart.  It is one of the very first promises in the Bible!  We can claim it with complete assurance that God WILL hear AND will do it!  So I plead for Him to grow that enmity.  Cause me to identify then hate sin in all its bits wherever they are found in me.

Genesis 3:15 (NASB)
15 And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel.”

Easton's Bible Dictionary defines 'enmity' as:

Enmity - deep-rooted hatred. "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, between thy seed and her seed" (Gen 3:15). The friendship of the world is "enmity with God" (Jam 4:4; 1Jo 2:15,16). The "carnal mind" is "enmity against God" (Rom 8:7).

As I see my inability to do anything about the fact I was born in sin, I rejoice that Jesus came to bear my sinfulness.  To give me sweet freedom as I daily make the free choice to serve Him alone.  I realize the messages about 'failure' are not from the One who gave His life for me.  They are from the slave-driver of sin who is trying to lure me back into his clutches.   All I have to do is have that heart-cry for closeness and Jesus will surely respond.  

Therefore, as I fast, I realize I cannot fail in the strength of the One who created me.  He is not worried about a cracker, or even 6 on a day I wanted to partake of only water.  He knows my heart, my intention and He has a plan to sweetly woo me and draw me to Himself...  Thank You Jesus!