Following Daniel's example

The Lord has placed heavily on my heart recently that I spend "40 days in the desert to prepare for ministry" just as Jesus did. As you know, Satan has sent many messengers to "buffet" me and receiving this call will open the door for him to send many more. Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit to be tempted by the devil. I believe that was to build His spiritual muscles, and keep Him focused. I believe that is what the Lord intends for me as well at this season of my life.

When Jesus was led into the desert, he fasted for 40 days. This enabled Him to stay focused on prayer & fellowship with His Father. Jesus drank only water during that time. Two years ago, when my father was dying, I partook of that same fast, 40 days without food, only drinking water. It was the most spiritually exhilarating time of my whole life. This time, however, I was convicted to partake of a different fast. Commonly known as the "Daniel Fast", a person consumes only vegetables & water as Daniel did. You can read about it in Daniel chapter 1. I, however, was not convicted to eat only vegetables, but I was also convicted to eat fruits. Ezekiel 47:12 says, "...fruit for food:leaves for medicine." Since a part of my ministry will be to teach others the benefits of life giving foods, it only makes sense that I partake only of them while preparing for this ministry.

Daniel set an example for us regarding resisting temptation. His unwavering integrity is an example we should strive to follow.

In Daniel 1:12-13, Daniel tested those who opposed him. He said to the guard:
"Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see. So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days."

Now see what it says in Daniel 1:15-16:
"At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead."

At the end of 10 days, they looked HEALTHIER and BETTER NOURISHED!!!! Friends, can you not see that God chose to honor their obedience?
God does not want us to live inside these overweight shells we have created for ourselves! He wants us to be HEALTHIER and BETTER NOURISHED!!!

So here is my challenge to you:
You try eating like Daniel did for 10 days, only 10 days! You try it & see for yourself if it doesn't make a difference! Daniels choice to consume vegetables changed his appearance. You are reading this because you, too, desire to change your appearance. Though Daniel was not looking to change his appearance (he was doing it out of the desire not to defile himself with the king's food) the fact is that the direct result of this decision is that his appearance DID change!
I decided to log my experience & results on a separate blog page. If you want to follow that, you can find it here:
40 Days in the desert

Daniel's way of eating is not a "law" for us to obey, it is an example of good stewardship.
1 Cor. 6:19-20 says, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body" Daniel did just that by taking good care of his body & purposing not to defile it.
Paul tells us that we are no longer under the law, so even if it WAS a law to eat Daniel's way, we would no longer be subject to it. There are a lot of voracious meat eaters that oppose Daniel's way of thinking. I am not here to challenge them.
1 Corinthians 10:23 says, "all things are lawful, but all things are not beneficial" In other words, just because you CAN doesn't mean you SHOULD! There is a lot of death & disease attributed to what a man puts in his body.

I hope that you accept the challenge to follow Daniel's way for 10 days. It is my prayer that you will experience a rejuvenation you never thought possible!

God bless you as you follow Daniel's example!