Nothing comes easy! In fact, if it does come easy, I would be highly suspicious, lol!!!

My sister, who just recently lost her husband (he passed away July 24, 2024), hasn’t had it easy with the dealings of the aftermath like getting titles changed over, etc. She communicated with me how the inspection for her car was not going through because her name wasn’t on the title. Her words: “I just stepped back and took a breath.” The inspection ended up taking place and now she has a new license plate along with several other much needed changes as well!

Hello God, I am painfully conscious of my need for further grace.

The testings that are a part of this life are engineered to produce perseverance, and even when we are on the right track forging ahead, we still can encounter rough terrain, steep mountain passes, and roadblocks. These are some of the ways our heavenly Father will prove our character (Romans 5:3-4; James 1:3-4). And while we would like to think it’s a “one and done” event for verification of character, we may be on repeat until He calls us home to glory! We should never be surprised. If we are diligently in God’s Word, we know that perseverance comes from these types of struggles. And for those of us who have believed on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness of our sins for eternal life, we have been given the gift of the Spirit. He is always ready to help us tackle whatever the Father permits and thinks is best to include in our story. Yet so often we turn away and squelch the work of the Spirit whereby missing out on what God wants to teach us, and ultimately, miss reflecting Christ to a lost world in need of a Savior.

Have you ever heard of a man named Nehemiah? Nehemiah was full of proven character!

He can be found in a little Old Testament Book standing before a Persian King as the cupbearer. However, he will be given permission to step down from this position to go back to his beloved city to repair the broken-down walls. But with this step down he will stand up to all kinds of ridicule and pressures. These pressures came from within as he governed his people in what God desired for their nation (Nehemiah 5:9) but these pressures also came from outside of the camp from those who tried to stop the work he was doing for the Lord and were ridiculing and looking for ways to entice him to quit (Nehemiah 4:1; chapter 6). His life was threatened more than once. But Nehemiah successfully completed his task through prayer and persevering!

“So I prayed to the God of heaven” (2:4b, ESV).

“Then I prayed,” (4:4a, NLT).

“But we prayed to our God…” (4:9)

In fact, Nehemiah began praying at the start of the book (1:4). “When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven.”

Mourned, fasted, and prayed! So often I am too busy to pray, and I neglect the heart of the matter. Have I overlooked a sin that needs confessing? Before venturing on another September fast, is my heart right before the Lord? Nehemiah sought out God’s guidance and direction, but he also offered confession for the sins of his nation as well as his own personal sins (1:6).

My Eighteen Day Fasting Challenge for the month of September is to reflect a heart that has confessed and even mourned over sin that has become all too common for me! Through this fast, I am asking the Lord to open my eyes to see anything that would hinder my relationship with Him, any trivial sin I practice without regard to the serious nature of sin! I pray for confession to be made, as well as perseverance in fasting and prayer; with a great expectancy, I am praying to see the day of His return!

“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” (Philippians 1:6).