“But the humble will inherit the land and will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.” — Psalm 37:11
Psalm 37:9–11
For evildoers will be cut off,
But those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land.
Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more;
And you will look carefully for his place, and he will not be there.
But the humble will inherit the land
And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.
1 Peter 5:5–8
Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Yes—don’t you love God’s Word! I trust you are embracing the posture of humility. We are seeking to attract the Father and welcome Him to grace us with His presence in powerful ways. We don’t want ordinary. We don’t want “normal.” We want an atmosphere, a culture, where He is welcomed to move and bring change.
Thank you so much for walking this way with me. It’s energizing to know I’m not alone. I was truly encouraged by your faith-filled response on Sunday morning.
David said he humbled his soul through fasting, and like him, many of us have set out upon the fast of Daniel to humble ourselves before the Lord.
A few notes about the fast. I’ve been asked whether this is a fast from cheese, dairy, and eggs. I will leave that up to your discretion. Last year I made that a requirement, but the text in the 21 days from the book of Daniel does not make that a requirement (though some do argue that eggs are a meat product). I personally will not have eggs during the fast, but I will have dairy.
My personal interpretation and application of Daniel 10:2–3 is this:
No meat. For me, that means chicken, lobster, beef, turkey, etc. I personally don’t even bother with meat substitutes. I don’t know if Daniel did either—LOL.
“Pleasant bread” is rendered “choice food” and “tasty food” in some translations. Therefore, I make the following choices during the Daniel Fast:
No sweet breads. For me, this includes anything sweet in the bread, muffin, or cookie category. I avoid all refined, processed flour and rice products. That means most typical bread, breadsticks, pizza dough, hamburger buns, cinnamon rolls, pancakes, waffles, etc. My aim is to eat whole-grain breads and cereals only.
No sugary sweets. For me, I take Daniel’s fast to include the elimination of all sugar-oriented foods: candy, chocolate, syrup on pancakes, jam, jelly, and syrup toppings.
“Wine” means wine in its first and literal reference. If you drink wine occasionally, you would abstain during this period. Wine is also symbolic of pleasure. Are there any pleasures that could get in the way of a clear pursuit of God? Any pleasures that could interfere with your prayer three times a day? Any that could impair your hearing of God? Any pleasures that have been lifted a little higher than God? If so, you should abstain during this period.