Day of Fasting

We had our corporate fasting-and-praying day last Tuesday. It was historic because in the short 3.5-year history of the church, it was our very first day of fasting as a congregation. It was timely because it was held on the famous Cup Day in Victoria when 'the race that stops the nation' is on. When the eyes of the nation are fixed on the strongest, fastest horses (and the bets that go with them), some two dozens people were fasting, worshipping, and praying for the nation, the church, and those we love deeply. I was reminded of the verses that the Psalmist wrote in Psalm 20:7-8:

Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
They collapse and fall,
but we rise and stand upright.

Obviously the psalmist was not thinking of Melbourne Cup Day when he wrote 'horses'. No, his mind was transported back to a more telling example of the pride of men. He was thinking of the horses and chariots that the Pharaoh's mighty army were riding when they were fast approaching the Israelites who were exiting Egypt. It does not take a Sun Tzu or Douglas MacArthur to predict whether or not those mighty chariots and horses can take the Israelites captive. With children and elderly people in their midst, there is no way the two million exodus can move faster than a turtle. But something then happened.

The Lord showed mercy to his people, and demonstrated to everyone alive then and today that trusting and boasting in the things of the world will result in a total disaster. Only the name of the Lord is a trustworthy source. Only the Lord of the universe is worth our complete trust. The latest global financial meltdown is a case in point. The Cup Day in many ways is not dissimilar.

As a church, when we were worshipping and fasting and praying we were testifying that we do not share the world's preoccupation with the best and mightiest of the world. When we humbled ourselves before the Lord, we acknowledged that the things that look very tough and valuable in the world can collapse and fail overnight, and that only the name of the Lord is a strong tower to which the righteous runs.