Set Your Face Like a Flint (Consecration – Week 3)

I’ve found that one key to a successful consecration is a made up mind.  Your mind has great influence on your will which consequentially determines if your fast will be 3 days of victory or 3 days of struggle. A great Christian writer, Watchman Née, proclaimed that the mind is the battlefield. I encourage you to have the same mind about fasting as Christ had about dying on the cross. The word says that when he faced the cross, he “set his face like a flint.”  What does this mean?

Isaiah 50:6-9, describes the mind that Christ had towards giving up His life so you and I could receive eternal life. The prophet Isaiah shared that Christ would set his “face like a flint.” Flint is a hard gray rock that is much harder than other rocks. In fact, they used flint as a foundation stone for houses and to make weapons. This metaphor means that Jesus was firm in his decision to die for our sins and no amount of suffering would change his mind.

In Hebrews 12:1-4, we learn that Christ did not sacrifice his life for no reason. Paul shared that he endured the cross for the joy that was set before him. There was a reward for his sacrifice.  Not only did he make a way of salvation for all who believe, but He also received all power in Heaven and Earth and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Thus, his suffering was not in vain.

Your sacrifice is also not in vain. Fasting strengthens our faith and prayer life. It teaches us to follow the Holy Spirit more closely in our daily lives and separates us from fleshly lust.  I’ve also found it profitable to set additional goals. Make a list of great needs and lay them before the Lord during this time of consecration. Make sure they are needs that only God can meet. Maybe your need is salvation for a loved one, a healing, or deliverance in a certain aspect of your life. Fasting will increase your faith that God can do it.

Fasting has many benefits. Although it can feel like a great sacrifice, remember to let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus (Philip 2:5-8).  Despite the discomfort or challenges fasting may present to our fleshly bodies, we must be firm in our mind to endure until the end.

Set your face like a flint!