Fast Day 20: Wisdom

The Lord is our rear guard (Isaiah 58:8)!

In a battle, the rear guard protects the backs of the main force who are engaging with an enemy army. When the eyes of the main force are focused on looking ahead, the eyes of the rear guard are looking behind and to the sides. They will warn the main army of any unforeseen or tricky actions. They are not engaged in the action and have a clearer view of the big picture. The rear guard also protects other necessary support services that don’t fight directly with the enemy: command, communication, medical, supplies and transportation. If the main force is the body, the rear guard is the mind. The more the rear guard knows, the better it can guide the main force. Our Rear Guard knows it all! He is our most wise guide!

The LORD holds success in store for the upright. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity. He guards the course of the just. He protects the path of His faithful ones. Then you will discern what is the right, just and fair way to go. For wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be delightful to your soul. Wise choices will protect you and understanding will guard you. Wisdom will rescue you from evil people and a person who walks in dark ways. Proverbs 2: 7-13

The Lord supplies us with success from His storehouse. If the battle is His, we have won already! His shield protects us on the path He has guided us to. He will share His wisdom with us so that we know how to move forward rightly and fairly. We delight in this knowledge because we know that making wise choices protects and guards us from dark enemies.

We don’t like to admit that we have been foolish, that we have made wrong decisions, that we have barreled forward without thinking, or that we let our emotions take charge when a cool head was needed. But sometimes we do those things!

Sometimes we don’t sleep well and we feel oh-so-tired and weary and we close our eyes to what is really happening. We might let jealousy get in the way. Is there someone who doesn’t work as hard as you do but always seems to end up on top anyway? I often feel that I follow my diet precisely, but the pounds don’t seem to come off, and I feel like I wasted time and energy. Have you set up a plan to reach a goal and then blindly followed it, forgetting to adjust and evaluate, only to end up NOT reaching your goal when you thought you were being faithful?

Wisdom is in the course correction! No successful army follows the plan made at headquarters in a vacuum. The rear guard can see and know more clearly what is needed in the moment. You asked God for His wisdom when you designed a plan for your fast. Ask God for His wisdom to adjust things when you are working the plan. Ask God for His wisdom when you complete the plan. Ask Him if you are done yet. Ask God for His wisdom when you evaluate the results:

What new thing is He teaching you as you move forward?

How can you keep moving forward wisely with that thing you and God want to do from your fast?

Write about it in your journal, or talk about it with someone (whichever works best for your personality).

All Knowing Lord, help me to listen when I ask You for Your wisdom and act on that. I know You have my back. Breathe Your strength into me. Amen.