The Call to Humility in June
The Counterattack to Pride's Display
As believers in Jesus Christ, we cannot sit back and remain on the sidelines any longer. The battle for our families, children, nation, and minds has arrived at our door. If you choose to remain comfortable and ignore the signs all around us, you will miss the greatest move of the glory of God in the history of the earth. Whether we choose to see it or not, evil has risen on the earth. We are at a crossroads where we must take a stand in whatever way the Lord calls each of us to do. And that is why the Holy Spirit is leading me to write this post today.
I woke up this morning with a very clear direction from the Holy Spirit. Before I tell you what it is, I will say fasting is not something I particularly like to do. It has been a struggle for me because of my past tendencies towards performance and “doing” things for God instead of just being with Him. Earning love, acceptance, and approval was my go-to mode of operation for most of my life. But I know when the Holy Spirit calls me deeper through fasting that it is not a works-based means to earn something from the Lord, but it is because of the intimacy He wants to have with me.
As soon as I woke up, I heard,
COUNTER THE PRIDE MOVEMENT WITH A MOVEMENT OF HUMILITY
Here in a few weeks, we are entering into June, the month where pride is on full display and celebrated. Over these past few years, the celebrations have gotten more open and mainstream in our culture. There are clothing lines, parades, books for kids, drag story hours, and curriculum in schools. The enemy is in an all-out attack right now against identity and Genesis 1:27, So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them. We need a counterattack. We to counterattack now through humility. I believe the Holy Spirit is calling upon the sons and daughters of God to put humility on display through fasting at the same time the world is displaying their pride.
Why is this such a big deal? Because pride is the exaltation of self—self-sufficiency, self-worship, self-focus, and self-indulgence. Is it any wonder our social media feeds are filled with “selfies?” We cannot be in an intimate relationship with God if we are operating from pride and self. This is why God hates pride so much.
Proverbs tells us:
Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall (16:18).
Before disaster the heart of a man is haughty and filled with self-importance, But humility comes before honor (18:12).
Haughty and arrogant eyes and a proud heart, The lamp of the wicked [their self-centered pride], is sin [in the eyes of God] (21:4).
Holy Spirit continued to speak,
IF MY PEOPLE WILL HUMBLE THEMSELVES AND PRAY AND SEEK MY FACE AND TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS, I WILL HEAR FROM HEAVEN, AND I WILL HEAL THEIR LAND (2 Chronicles 7:14).
We have heard this verse so many times over the past few years, it is to the point we could dismiss the instruction. But when Holy Spirit speaks it fresh and anew, He is bringing a rhema word to our spirits for what Heaven wants to do in this hour. God wants to move. He wants to bring healing to our land, and I believe it is coming! But we must be faithful to obey His directions when He calls out to us and gives us instructions.
If you are reading this and feel the nudge in your spirit to be a part of this counterattack against pride that the Holy Spirit is mounting, pray and begin to ask the Lord what this looks like for you. Here are some options you can put before the Lord:
Do a 40-day fast from May 22-June 30. This fast would begin 7 days before Pentecost. There is definitely something to that realization for those called to the 40 days.
Do a 30-day fast during June.
Do a 21-day, 10-day, or 3-day fast sometime during June.
Fast once a week for 24 hours each week in June.
Fast one meal a day every day in June.
The specifics of your fast are between you and the Lord. It can be certain foods and drinks, social media, entertainment, or addicting behaviors such as shopping. For some, it may even be to fast from taking selfies. That may sound silly, but in all reality, we are more self-focused than we even realize. The purpose of this fast is humility and the humbling of self to tell the Lord it is Him who deserves to be worshipped. We are humbling ourselves in reverence to Him and choosing not to put self-worship on display throughout June as the world is doing. The purpose of this fast is not to get anything from God. There are times we fast for breakthroughs and for God to move. This is not one of those fasts. This time of humbling is simply to bow low before the Lord because He is the one who deserves to be worshipped and not man.
All fasts are private between you and the Lord. Still, the Bible does give examples of corporate fasts and groups of believers coming together in unity through this discipline. Pray. Seek the Lord for direction. We will see His glory cover the earth as the water covers the seas (Habakkuk 2:14). Pride will not have the final say.
*All Scriptures in this post are taken from the Amplified Bible.
I, too, am not practiced at fasting, but the Lord has been leading me to fast regularly in some way. The timing and cause are so perfect. Thank you for your faithfulness.