Day 1: Walking through another “no dairy, no sugar” fast means spending time in God’s Word with a heart of prayer.

My nephew (my brother’s son) is starting 5 days of a chemo that secretes through the skin and requires 3 showers a day and bed sheets changed daily to try and prevent skin rashes, all to prepare him for his Stem Cell Transplant on March 8, 2022. I have found my heart to be heavy with the pain and loss many are facing. I’m asking the Lord to show me the principles to glean as I am more intentional in my Bible study. I’m also asking Him to open my eyes to His work as I spend more time in fervent praying. The Bible tells us of the endless treasures available to us in Christ with such riches just waiting to be gathered (Ephesian 3). Yet, we are usually too busy pursuing life for the here and now that we miss out!

My very first month-long, no dairy, no sugar fast was in September of 2017. Each year now, I have tried to keep a month-long commitment. This year, my fifth year, I am adding in the month of March so that I hope to experience two month-long, “no dairy, no sugar” fasts for 2022.

If you are new to my blog, you can catch up with the reason behind it by going to:

Confessions of a “Sugar-holic”! and A Pig’s Snout

C. H. Mackintosh, a 19^th century expositor, believed the Red Sea did not divide throughout all at once, but opened progressively as Israel moved forward, so that they needed to trust God for each fresh step. Mackintosh wrote, “God never gives guidance for two steps at a time. I must take one step, and then I get light for the next. This keeps the heart in abiding dependence upon God.” It is axiomatic that God generally leads His children step-by-step, provides for us day-by-day, and cares for us moment by moment.

The Red Sea Rules by Robert J. Morgan

He goes on to share a hymn that I have always held dear, even as a child.

Day by Day, written in 1865 by Lina Sandell-berg, a Swedish Hymn writer.

1. Day by day and with each passing moment,
   Strength I find to meet my trials here;
   Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment,
   I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.
   He whose heart is kind beyond all measure
   Gives unto each day what He deems best–
   Lovingly, it’s part of pain and pleasure,
   Mingling toil with peace and rest.
2. Ev’ry day the Lord Himself is near me
   With a special mercy for each hour;
   All my cares He fain would bear, and cheer me,
   He whose name is Counselor and Pow’r.
   The protection of His child and treasure
   Is a charge that on Himself He laid;
   “As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,”
   This the pledge to me He made.
3. Help me then in eve’ry tribulation
   So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,
   That I lose not faith’s sweet consolation
   Offered me within Thy holy Word.
   Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,
   E’er to take, as from a father’s hand,
   One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
   Till I reach the promised land.

Whatever you are facing, take it – Day by day, step by step, moment by moment – depending completely on a loving, caring Father who provides mercy for each hour!