Fasting: Day 16 ,17, & 18
CHECK IN ( write in your journal):
Write down your memory verses that are on the top of your heart
What are your observations on how God is moving in you and around you while you fast?
How are you reacting to making more room for God’s presence?
OUR GOAL FOR THE NEXT 3 DAYS
Learning how to equip ourselves with the word again. Read your memory verses throughout the day.
Practice and Reflection: Obeying and Praying
Operating in God’s will, submitting to his shepherding.
Meditating on God as my Father.
My Secret Life (Solitude)
My Point A’s and My Point B’s
Understanding Role and Control
ROLE &CONTROL
The Cure for Anxiety
Read: Matthew 6:25–34
Be Still — God Is Here
Before we begin, pause.
Be still.
You are here… and so is God.
He is for you, not against you.
Your life may feel heavy. Your life may feel full. But now you are part of His story. You belong to His family. You are His responsibility.
Allow Him to carry you.
Rest.
Smile, Smile, Smile, Smile, Smile — because He loves you.
A Command That Heals
In Matthew 6, Jesus gives a direct command:
“Don’t worry.”
This is not a harsh rebuke. It is a loving invitation. Our Bible is not merely a rulebook — it is a revelation of God’s heart. The One who saved you from death to life is not only concerned with eternity; He is concerned with your everyday life — what you eat, what you wear, how you sleep, what keeps you up at night.
He is God in the celebrations.
He is God in the trauma.
He is God in the mountains and valleys
He is God in the details.
And He is here.
Why Birds and Flowers?
Out of all the examples Jesus could have chosen, He chose creation:
Birds that do not sow or reap
Wildflowers that do not labor or spin
Grass that appears today and burns tomorrow
Why?
Because you have no control over them.
You do not feed the birds.
You do not clothe the wildflowers.
You do not command the grass to grow.
And then Jesus mentions something even more personal: tomorrow.
“Tomorrow will worry about itself.”
He speaks of tomorrow as if it is held on a leash like a dog. Why? Because it is! God holds it. He governs it. He sustains it.
Jesus is reminding us of something foundational:
It is God’s role to create, sustain, and rule.
It is not yours.
The Root of Anxiety
The spiritual root of anxiety is often this tension:
We step into roles that were never ours.
We try to control outcomes.
We try to manage timelines.
We try to guarantee provision.
We try to carry what only God can carry.
But you are not the Creator.
You are not the Sustainer.
You are not the Supreme Monarch.
Worry grows when we confuse our power with God’s power.
From the beginning — as we see in Book of Genesis — humanity’s wholeness depended on trusting God’s role and embracing our own. We were made to worship, to depend, to walk with Him — not to replace Him.
Redemption is not only forgiveness of sins. It is restoration of order. It is the renewal of the mind. It is returning to our proper place in creation.
Learning Powerlessness
In my life, God has used brothers in Christ who have been delivered from substance abuse and addiction. Through their testimony, God showed me how powerfully God can break chains. These men of God , who were once enslaved to their vices, now have a new master, Jesus Christ.
In my conversations with them, they explained to me the 12 step program that help them process freedom through Christ. The program enforces God’s role and control, and one’s own personal responsibility. Addicts are called to hold two principles: I am not in control of many things, God is. The second, God allowed me to control somethings, I will do it. Here are their 12 Steps.
Admitting powerlessness over the addiction
Believing that GOD can actually help
Deciding to surrender full control to God
Taking a personal inventory
Admitting to God, oneself, and another person the wrongs done
Being ready to have God correct any shortcomings in one’s character
Asking God to remove those shortcomings
Making a list of wrongs done to others and being willing to make amends for those wrongs
Contacting those who have been hurt, unless doing so would harm the person
Continuing to take personal inventory and admitting when one is wrong
Seeking revelation and attachment with God via prayer and meditation
Carrying the message of the 12 Steps to others in need
This example shows a perfect example of what it’s like to understand what God is in control of, and what we are responsible for. The addicts are called to understand that their addiction is more powerful than their flesh and mind can ever handle. However, they are called to also surrender to the power that CAN handle it. From that point of surrender, they are instructed to handle what they can realistically manage. It’s from those steps, where anxiety begins to lift up its mysterious fog.
One of the prayers that the 12 Step Program repeats is the the famous Serenity Prayer:
God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Jesus is teaching something deeply similar in Matthew 6.
You cannot control the birds.
You cannot control the flowers.
You cannot control tomorrow.
But you can seek first the Kingdom.
The Path to Wholeness
Jesus says:
“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.”
Wholeness does not come from controlling everything.
Wholeness comes from surrendering to the right King.
Many people know they are saved from death to life, yet struggle to live in the abundant life here and now. Why? Because they still carry burdens that were never theirs to hold.
To be healthy and whole means:
Letting God be God
Accepting your limits
Trusting His provision
Living within His design
His boundaries are for your good.
His roles are for your good.
His order leads to shalom (peace and wholeness).
Jesus says in Gospel of Luke 17:33:
“Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it.”
The paradox of peace is surrender.
Reflection Questions
What specific “tomorrows” are you trying to control right now?
In what areas of your life have you stepped into God’s role and control?
What would it look like today to simply seek His Kingdom first?
What is God calling you to control and manage? What are you responsible for?
Prayer
Father,
You are Creator. You are Sustainer. You hold tomorrow.
Forgive me for trying to carry what only You can carry.
Teach me to accept what I cannot change,
to act where You have given me responsibility,
and to trust You with everything else.
As I fast, reorder my heart.
Restore my mind.
Make me healthy and whole in You.
Amen.
