Hey, babes! Ya girl is back and fresh off a 21 day fast (whew, chillay!). Every year, Transformation Church and Transformation Nation set aside the first fruits of the year with a fast. We always begin right after the first Sunday of the year and fast together for 21 days. Each day, we pray over a specific topic, and we meet corporately for prayer and worship each evening. 2021 was my third year joining TC in the annual fast, and from the beginning, I could feel in my spirit that something was different about this fast, about this year.

I felt led to fast from what I like to call "digital entertainment": cable, Netflix/Hulu/streaming services, YouTube videos that are not educational or sermons, video games, etc. I finally got back into my health regimen, so I was hesitant to do the Daniel Fast or cut out meat because I need the gains, okay? But, I also decided to fast from sweets because I have a monster sweet tooth. For the final seven days, I chose to fast from all Social Media. No cable, no streaming, no YouTube, and then no social media for a week? Yeah, I've been in the dark about what's going on in the world. But, I've been at peace, praise God! I have grown closer to God over these last few weeks, and I'm excited to share the top four things God has brought to my attention.

HOW I FILL MYSELF + WHAT I FILL MYSELF WITH

I loaded up on TV/Netflix at the end of 2020 because TV is my way to zone out whenever I'm tired/stressed/need a break, and I took the last two weeks of the year off work, so I had all the time. I felt very gunked up in my spirit with all the media I had been consuming. I was excited to cleanse my soul a 'lil bit and focus on the Lord, but it was the definition of a challenge. Do you know what it's like to have a Saturday with nothing on your calendar and not be able to watch TV or a movie to pass the time? Or to have a stressful day at work and want something on in the background so that you can zone out and not be able to turn on HGTV (shoutout to House Hunters forever)?

I also began reminding myself of how important it is to guard my eye and ear gates. How had the images and storylines I was consuming impacted me and my ability to hear from God? Was I inadvertently blocking myself from accessing the Holy Spirit because of what I was absorbing with my gates? God reminded me of how important it is to be mindful of not only what I'm doing but why I'm turning to that thing for peace instead of to Him.

STEWARDSHIP OF TIME & ENERGY

I cut out digital entertainment, yet I wasn't crossing things off my To-Do list. Why? I had to stop and think about how I was using my time. Was I prioritizing what needed to be done and being proactive, or wasting time and energy? I realized that I needed to get back on my pre-Rona schedule of getting up, working out, and starting my workday earlier, freeing up my evenings for productivity. Even though I had more available time from not watching TV, I still had to choose to be productive during that time. I spent my newfound free time hanging out with God, listening to sermons, watching the live broadcasts from Transformation, and getting back to one of my original loves - reading.

As one of my closes friends once told me, "Being busy is not the same as being fruitful."

GOD IS ON G-TIME, NOT MY TIME

If you can't tell, this fast was challenging from the get-go, which is unusual for me. But, it was also prolific from the get-go. I started to feel closer to the Lord in Spirit toward the end of the first week, and it kept ramping up from there. I began the fast with a request to God to reveal His vision for my year. During the first week, I had written down what I believed was my vision for the year and took it to Him to confirm or change. During the second week, He verified it. I have to admit that I thought He would make it all come to pass immediately, forgetting that He is always working and not time-boxed to these 21 days. The third week began with frustration because I hadn't seen anything from my vision for the year fully come to pass. Yes, the vision for the YEAR had not come to pass within the first few WEEKS of the year, and I was upset. God is still working on my patience, okay?

I coined this term (at least I think I did; I've never heard anyone else say it) that God is on G-Time, not my time. I have no idea what G-Time is, but I know it's perfect, so I'm willing to wait on it.

GROWTH IN THE SPIRIT

I was so excited to fast from digital entertainment because I remembered how I used to continually fill myself up with God's word by listening to sermons. In the past, I had sermons on nonstop (thank you, podcasts) and would listen to them on the way to/from work, during work, after work, while working out, all the time. I wanted to get back to that place, so I decided to dive into some old Transformation sermons I hadn't heard before. I stumbled upon their Expect Effect series, which, ironically enough, was from the 21 days of prayer and fasting for 2016. These last four days of the fast have been tremendous for me because I have focused on the truth of God. The truth that He is a BIG God that can do BIG things and is without limitation. The truth is that we are created in His image, meaning we have His power inside us and the ability to ask and pray down BIG things into the earth and our lives. I learned the importance of expectation and how it's vital in this Walk with Christ.

I used to be a dreamer and would always believe for things that others would deem crazy. I fell away from that level of dreaming because life happens. But I feel like God has been calling me back to that place - a place of expectation and believing Him for big things. God has shown me that Ephesians 3:20 is a great scripture, but notice how it says God can do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.

Either way - God can go above and beyond. Are we lowering the bar for God, or are we raising it to His level? With this in mind, I got remarkably bold with a prayer on Day 20 of the fast. I asked the Lord to remove all my debt within three months and stood on Deuteronomy 28:12 - I am a lender and not a borrower. It may sound crazy to you, but I don't need your faith to believe it. I'll let you all know when God answers this prayer.

This time of prayer and fasting has been phenomenal and has shifted the trajectory of my year.

I praise God and give Him all the glory for everything He has in store for me. I thank Him for shifting my focus and expectation so that He can do the miraculous in my life. I don't know how my year would be going if I sat out on this year's fast, but I can guarantee you that I would not be closer to God, and I would not have a renewed expectation for the year. If you want to follow what we did as a Church, you can download TC's plan on the YouVersion Bible app (search for The Sauce).

If you have never done a fast, especially one at the beginning of the year, I encourage you to do it! Set aside time to grow with God and let Him work on you and prune whatever He needs to prune in your life so that you are rooted for the year. Slight plug: I go into more detail about fasting, guarding your gates, stewardship, submitting to God's plan, and growing in the Spirit in my devotional. Get your copy of Letters to the Lord here.

Did you fast this year? If not, do you plan to start a fast soon? Let me know in the comments! 👇🏽

UPDATE:

I started this post on January 24, the last day of the fast. During my prayer time the morning of January 25, I asked God if I should continue fasting or not. He said yes, for three days; He can do miraculous and mighty things with three days. Okay, God, I expect you to show up and show out for ya girl! I'll update you all on my Insta when I return - follow me to stay in the know.