Day Seven Of The 10th Annual End Of Summer Fast & Detox

You’ve Done The Work Now it’s Time To Move 

You did it. You made it to the end of our 10th Annual End of Summer Fast & Detox.

How does it feel? Take a moment to give yourself a pat on the back. I’ll speak from my POV, these last seven days weren’t easy, but we stuck to it, and that deserves some celebration.

Before we jump back into all the things we gave up, let’s wrap up this fast by bringing all of the points together.

We’ve spent our time together getting to know who God is, beyond a distant higher power. We started to see ourselves in our Christ centered identity and who we are in Him. We revisited our past mistakes and hurts and began to heal through them. We broke down our idols and the things that have taken the place of God. We got clear on our assignment, outside of just purpose. We checked our environments and shed the things that don’t need to come with us.

Now that you’ve examined all of that, What are you actually going to do?

Today, we’re taking a step and MOVING.

Genesis Is Filled With People Who Had to Move

Since we’ve stayed in Genesis throughout this fast, it feels fitting to end here. Genesis is filled with people who had to move.

Abraham had to leave before he knew exactly where he was going.

Lot had to leave what God told him to leave and not look back.

Joseph had to keep working his assignment in places he never expected to be.

Adam and Eve had to leave Eden and enter a completely different season of life.

There’s a common thread in all of these stories, they couldn’t stay where they were forever, and neither can we.

You can spend seven days identifying idols, discovering your identity, understanding your assignment, and deciding what belongs in your next season, but nothing changes if you stay still. At some point, you have to move.

Today, I want you to work your set.

What can you do with where you are?

Work Your Set

Joseph wasn’t necessarily choosing each move. He went from being sold into slavery, to Potiphar’s house, to prison, and eventually to Pharaoh’s court. Everywhere he went, he worked the assignment in front of him.

Joseph didn’t say, “I’ll use my gift once I’m out of prison.” He used what he had where he was, and eventually, his gift created an opportunity for him.

Sometimes we’re so focused on where we’re trying to go that we overlook what we can do right where we are.

I went to a baseball game yesterday, and as I watched the players who were each up to bat, I noticed this sense of urgency. They hit the ball and immediately took off toward the next base. They didn’t stand at home plate thinking about every base they might eventually touch. They moved.

I think we have to approach our lives with that same readiness. We have to move as if the ball could be hit at any moment. Because sometimes the opportunity is already in front of you. You just have to be willing to run.

Movement Comes Before Momentum

This is the season for momentum. Momentum isn’t doing anything and everything just to feel productive. It’s doing the things that align with your assignment. Momentum is strategic, not frantic. It’s not busy work.

This may seem easy, but so many times we don’t move because we have these large plans to do all these things. We’re thinking about the dream, the business, the career, the relationship, the content, the next season, but what is the next step?

We have to be willing to move even when we don’t know the full picture. Think about Abraham.

When God called him to leave his father’s house, he moved. He could have gotten the revelation and stayed still until he had the entire plan, but he didn’t.

Movement comes before momentum.

Stop waiting on God to give you the full picture when He’s already given you the next step.

You’ve spent this fast getting your heart, mind, and spirit in the right place, but eventually, you have to leave the shelter and actually walk.

Don’t focus on the entire picture. What is one thing you can do today toward it? Whatever it may be, take the step.

Stop Looking Back

One of my favorite scriptures that I use often with my good friend Zana is Luke 17:32: “Remember Lot’s wife.”

Lot’s wife is only mentioned briefly in Genesis, but her story carries a lot of weight. The angels told Lot to get up and leave before the destruction of Sodom. As they were leaving, Lot’s wife looked back and became a pillar of salt.

She was leaving physically, but her heart was still looking backward. Sometimes moving forward requires us to stop romanticizing where God told us to leave.

This even connects directly to yesterday’s question, What is coming with you? You cannot move forward while constantly looking behind you. 

There are things that cannot come with you into your next season.

There are hurts you have to move past.

There are mistakes you have to forgive yourself for.

There are environments you have to release.

There are mindsets you have to leave behind.

You have to move.

You Can’t Think Your Way Into the Assignment

Today, I challenge you to move.

Take whatever the next step is toward the assignment God has called you to.

You can’t think your way into the assignment. You have to get in the field and actually work your set.

Sometimes we think we’re healed because we haven’t been placed in a situation that requires us to respond differently. You can’t discover everything about your growth while standing still. Some growth only becomes visible when you move.

This applies to more than just our spiritual lives. For those of you detoxing, I want you to focus on movement too. not just in a biblical sense, but practically.

We’ve spent these seven days getting clear on our whys, creating mission statements, breaking the hold our past mistakes have on us, removing distractions, thinking about our legacies, and getting our ecosystems to match the person we are becoming.

Now what?

What’s one step you can take toward the dreams and goals you’ve been talking about?

Think about three things you want to focus on during this next season and quarter that align with your longer term goals.

Once you know those things, create weekly routines around them.

We sometimes have dreams and goals that feel so big, but we have to break them down to actually get them done.

Break those wildest dreams into bite sized pieces.

What can you do today?

What can you do this week?

What can you do consistently?

Opportunity dances with those on the dance floor.

MOVE.

Use everything you’ve learned.

Use the hurts.

Use the mistakes.

Use the clarity.

Use the lessons.

And work your set.

A Final Prayer

Whether you were fasting, detoxing, or both, I am proud of you for sticking to it.

As we walk out of this fast and detox and return to the things we gave up, I challenge you to remember this sacred time.

Go back to the intentions you set at the beginning. Do you feel like you’re closer?

I hope you walk out of this time feeling restored, clear, hopeful, and ready.

My prayer is that you walk out different than you walked in.

I pray you know who God is and who you are in Him.

I pray that you forgive yourself and others and move past the past, because looking back will keep you stuck.

I pray that God breaks any idols that have taken His place in your heart.

I pray you know that you have a divine assignment while you’re here, wherever you are.

I pray that you clear your environment of the things God has called you to release.

Most importantly, I pray you move into all that God has for you.

I’m so grateful for each of you.

That’s a wrap on Year 10. Thank you for joining me for this special time. 

And now, let’s move.