THE FAST THAT I HAVE CHOSEN
When Fasting Becomes More Than Going Without
As the days leading toward 5787 continued, the message became more focused.
First, I heard the call to settle it.
Then came the call to understand the way of the Kingdom.
Then: be instant—be ready to obey when God speaks.
And now, the focus turned inward.
What happens when God asks me to put everything else aside and give Him my undivided attention?
That became the heart of another livestream centered on biblical fasting, obedience, and spiritual warfare.
I had been fasting since Sunday, and as I searched the Scriptures, Isaiah 58 brought the issue into sharp focus.
The Fast God Has Chosen
Isaiah 58 confronts a form of fasting that can look religious on the outside while the heart remains unchanged.
That challenged me.
Because fasting is not simply about what I stop eating.
It is not about how long I go without something.
It is not a spiritual performance.
The deeper question is:
What is God asking me to surrender?
A true fast brings my heart into alignment with God.
It calls me to examine my motives.
My desires.
My habits.
My obedience.
My treatment of others.
My willingness to hear what God is saying—and then actually do it.
There is a difference between going without food and giving God my attention.
The second one is where transformation begins.
Undivided Attention
One of the strongest themes throughout this livestream was the need to give God our undivided attention.
We live in a world filled with voices.
Social media.
Entertainment.
Opinions.
Influencers.
News.
Distractions.
Even religious activity can become a distraction when it replaces relationship with God.
I don’t want to become so busy consuming information about God that I stop listening to God.
I don’t want to follow a person when God is asking me to follow Him.
The call in this season is simple:
Hear and obey.
Not hear and debate.
Not hear and postpone.
Not hear and wait for everyone else to agree.
Hear.
Obey.
Obedience Is the Real Issue
The story in 2 Kings 13 became a powerful illustration of this.
The king was given specific prophetic instruction concerning striking the ground. He followed the instruction—but not completely.
And the outcome exposed something important:
Partial obedience is still disobedience.
That caused me to think about how often God gives us simple instructions and we make them complicated.
Sometimes the instruction is:
Pray.
Forgive.
Go.
Stop.
Give.
Speak.
Be quiet.
Fast.
Wait.
Move.
Bang the gavel.
The question is not always whether I understand why.
The question is whether I trust the One who gave the instruction.
Spiritual Authority Requires Responsibility
The livestream also moved deeply into the subject of spiritual warfare and deliverance.
As I teach and minister in this area, I am increasingly aware that authority cannot be separated from responsibility.
Jesus gave His followers authority, but that authority is not something to use for personal display.
It is exercised in submission to Him.
The goal is not to become fascinated with darkness.
The goal is to remain so aligned with Jesus that darkness does not become the focus.
Jesus remains the focus.
Even when dealing with spiritual opposition, my attention must remain on the Lord.
Intercession for Others
Job 22:30 came up again:
“He will even rescue the one [for whom you intercede] who is not innocent; and he will be rescued through the cleanness of your hands.”
This Scripture has become especially meaningful to me because of my call to intercession.
There are times when God puts someone else on my heart.
Someone who may not know what to pray.
Someone who may be struggling.
Someone who may be bound by fear or confusion.
Someone who needs breakthrough.
Intercession allows me to stand before God on behalf of others.
But again, it comes back to surrender.
Clean hands.
A surrendered heart.
Obedience.
Don’t Let Signs Become the Center
During the livestream, I also shared some personal experiences involving numbers and things I have perceived as prophetic signs.
But there is an important distinction I want to preserve:
The sign is never greater than the One giving the sign.
Numbers, patterns, circumstances, confirmations—all of them have to be brought back under Scripture.
I don’t want to become so fascinated by signs that I miss the voice of God.
If something draws my attention, I take it to the Word.
I pray.
I listen.
I test it.
And I keep Jesus at the center.
Hear and Obey
Another major thread was the danger of allowing human voices to become louder than God’s voice.
We have access to more information than any generation before us.
But information is not the same thing as revelation.
And influence is not the same thing as authority.
A person can have thousands of followers and still not be the voice God has assigned to lead me.
My responsibility is to know Jesus.
To know His Word.
To recognize His voice.
And to obey.
Hear and obey.
That phrase keeps returning in this season.
A Deeper Kind of Warfare
Perhaps one of the biggest revelations from this livestream was that spiritual warfare is not merely about confronting something outside of us.
Sometimes the deeper battle is surrendering what is inside of us.
Our will.
Our pride.
Our fear.
Our appetites.
Our distractions.
Our need for approval.
Our desire to control the outcome.
Fasting exposes those things.
It creates space.
And sometimes when everything else gets quiet, we discover just how much noise was actually inside us.
That is why fasting can be uncomfortable.
It isn’t merely about an empty stomach.
It can reveal a heart that needs to be brought back into alignment.
The Consuming Fire
As I continued through this season, I found myself thinking about God as a consuming fire.
Fire consumes.
Fire purifies.
Fire changes what it touches.
And perhaps that is part of what this season has been doing in me.
Burning away distractions.
Burning away dependence on human approval.
Burning away anything that competes with obedience.
Not because God is trying to destroy me.
But because He is making room for what belongs to Him.
The Blessing at the End
The livestream eventually moved from warfare and instruction into prayer.
And we ended with the blessing of Numbers 6:24–26:
“The LORD bless thee, and keep thee…”
That was definitely significant.
After all the discussion about fasting, surrender, warfare, obedience, and authority, the ultimate posture is still dependence upon God.
He is the One who blesses.
He is the One who keeps.
He is the One who makes His face shine upon us.
He is the One who gives peace.
The Road to 5787 Continues
Looking back at this message alongside the others, I can see another step in the progression.
Settle It!
Know what you believe.
The Way of the Kingdom.
Learn how Kingdom citizens live.
Be Instant!
Be ready to obey.
The Fast That I Have Chosen.
Remove what competes with obedience.
This season is becoming less about simply receiving revelation and more about becoming responsive to it.
The question is no longer only:
“Lord, what are You saying?”
It is becoming:
“Lord, what do You want me to do?”
And then comes the hardest—and simplest—part:
Do it.
Hear.
Surrender.
Obey.
Stand.
Pray.
Move when He says move.
Wait when He says wait.
And keep Jesus at the center of it all.
Scriptures from “The Fast That I Have Chosen”
- Isaiah 58
- Job 22:30
- 2 Kings 13:18–21
- Matthew 12
- Numbers 6:24–26
The New-Season Thread
Settle It! — Establish.
The Way of the Kingdom — Align.
Be Instant! — Respond.
The Fast That I Have Chosen — Surrender.
The closer I look, the more I recognize that this week was not simply a series of livestream topics.
It was a journey.
A preparation.
A progressive call to become more attentive, more surrendered, more obedient, and more available to God.
And the journey toward 5787 was still unfolding.
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