I’m a numbers girl. I dig numbers. I love them. I study them. I often find even the silliest of significance in them. OK – I might be a little odd, but I like even numbers too. Ha! Seriously…I especially love how numbers are important to God. He’s so purposeful and orderly in everything He does. Several numbers have great significance in the Bible…7, 12, 70, to name just a few, and my personal favorite: FORTY! Forty has long been recognized biblically as a very important number, generally signifying a period of trial, probation, and testing. The beauty of the biblical forty is that this period generally ends with a promise or blessing. The tribe of Israel experienced the blessing of the promised land after 40 years of wandering in the desert. Forty days of flooding eventually brought God’s covenant, symbolized by the rainbow. Jesus was tempted by the Devil while experiencing a forty-day fast in the desert. Christ appeared after His resurrection for forty days on the earth. I could go on and on, but the point is the number forty is very significant.
So, what’s a numbers girl like me supposed to do with this knowledge? Use it! I prayed that God would use that number in my life in some significant way. What would 40 days or 40 weeks or perhaps 40 years reveal for me? What discipline do I need to be obedient in for the Lord to do a mighty work in me? I thought about another time of fasting, but I don’t think that’s it just yet. I thought about refraining from something (i.e., TV, Facebook, Twitter), but I don’t think He’s calling me to do that YET. It hit me this past week. There’s one thing that I’m struggling to keep doing, but I feel like it’s something that I’m supposed to be doing: blogging! That might sound insignificant to some of you, but it’s huge to me! First of all, I’m notorious for having all kinds of “great” ideas. I start many of them and finish few of them. Completion is very difficult for me, partly due to my perfectionistic personality where I’m constantly trying to make something better than it already is, creating many incomplete projects. I’ve seen that carry over into my blog writing quite often. But this is something that I’m determined to keep doing. It’s a place of release for me. I love being able to remove some of those crazy thoughts from my head and put them in written form. I’ve been told by some of you that this blog is something you count on reading for encouragement or laughter or even conviction. While I’m very humbled to know that…I also feel a huge burden to keep it up.
So, that leads me to today…Day 1 of 40 days of continuous blogging. I haven’t pre-written any, so I’m relying completely on God to help me do this. I just feel it’s something that I have to do. I’m not sure if I’m trying to prove something to myself or simply to watch God work through me. He certainly knows that this season in my life is usually quite chaotic, so maybe that’s exactly why He wants me to do it now. Who knows? But, I know this…I’d love to have you on this 40-day journey with me. I love reading your comments, emails, and Facebook and Twitter entries. Keep ’em comin’. They certainly keep me motivated. And…just maybe…somewhere within the words that I write…just maybe…someone will be blessed. So, here we go…until tomorrow…be blessed, dear friends!