RTW March 1

Going To The Extreme

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. If any of the people, either men or women, take the special vow of a Nazirite, setting themselves apart to the LORD in a special way,…”
Numbers 6:1-2

 

 

My Takeaways

Something Old

When…

It (the special vow) wasn’t required. We are not required to draw close to God, but it sure makes life better when we do.

Something New

The vow of the Nazarite was to express one’s special desire to draw close to God and to separate one’s self from the comforts and pleasures of this world.

Vows were very serious, and not to be taken lightly.

If a man vows a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. (ESV) Numbers 30:2

“If you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay fulfilling it, for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin.” (ESV) Deuteronomy 23:21

What am I willing to do to draw close to God?

Something to Do

Do I need to separate myself from the comforts and pleasures of this world?

 

 

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17 Comments

  1. This is my accountability post.
    Gosh. SO much in today’s reading from start to finish for me. I was planning to make a vow today March 1st before I ever read today’s reading. I was planning to give up sugar, bread, junk food. Similar to Whole 30 and my plan was to do this for 30 days and go from there. The comment about gluttony really spoke to me yesterday and also my health/weight has gotten way off track after having 2 surgeries in recent years. God brought all of this together today encouraging me that it’s the right thing for me to do. I desperately desire the bondage of emotional over-eating and addiction to comfort food be broken. I also desperately desire to experience God in a new and deeper way through this vow. I would so appreciate your prayers, this is not easy for me, food and I go way back. Thank you friends.

    1. I was just doing the short devotional version of Made to Crave by Lysa Ternquist on the Bible app. It is a big encouragement for traveling through any stronghold. Hope you find it helpful.

        1. jlg5309, I hope you can keep us updated on your vow! I will keep you in prayer as we share a lot of the same struggle.

          1. Valerie thank you! I sure will. God is doing so much! Praying for you as well my friend.

    3. I have you on my ongoing prayer list for the month of March. I have one piece of advice for you, but take it for what it’s worth if you find it helpful. I am a long-time Weight Watchers member and one thing that I have learned there is that if I have a slip up related up to food not to beat myself up. Rather get right back on track with the next meal or snack. As with RTW, it is persistence not perfection.

      1. Thank you so so much Mary. I literally wrote that same thing in my journal yesterday. Persistence not perfection. I have a tendency to take it to extremes either way. Either overindulging or restricting. Thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement!

  2. It’s also FB. I am detoxing digitally from FB for the next 30 days. I will keep posting here but I have deleted FB from my phone. Please pray!! ???

    2. I wanted to weigh in on this too. I have added you to my ongoing prayer list for the month of March. One thought I had (& take it for what it’s worth to you), is that it might be helpful to have something in mind that you want to do instead when you are tempted to go to social media. In my experience with things like this, it has been helpful to have something positive to DO to take the focus away from what I CAN’T do.

      1. Thank you Mary. It’s really something how many times I go to hit the app on my phone and it’s not there. Just out of habit I guess. I don’t miss FB, I might think of something I want to post or lookup and I remember I’m not on it. I will substitute with a prayer. I’m ok not having it once I delete it. It’s when I am on it that I can’t seem to stop scrolling is my real issue. And also checking it a million times a day. I had to realize that I’m not really missing anything like my fear tells me. God will make sure I know what I need to know whether I’m on FB or not. Thank you so much for your prayers!

        2. I just had a similar conversation with a friend at church about giving up Facebook. She said what she did in place of Facebook was reading the Bible app instead. I intend to try this for Lent.

  3. What came to my mind is that Lent is the perfect time to do this, and it’s right around the corner. Lovely timing! ?

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