Evotional.com - Mark Batterson

It's day 40. I really don't want this 40 days to end, but I'm excited about setting some new goals. I finished reading the New Testament today (I finished the Old Testament a couple weeks ago). I've never read so much Scripture in such a short time. I feel like this forty days really increased my appetite. I have to admit that I can't wait to break my fast and drink some vanilla coke. I may stay up till midnight. I think I'll always look back on this forty days at a critical turning point for me my my life and ministry. I'm reminded, however, of something Robert Rohr said. "Your last experience with God can be the greatest obstacle to your next experience with God." These forty days aren't a graduation. They are a commencement.
It felt great getting back into the saddle and preaching today. It's been five weeks. In some ways I was concerned because I've been so focused on what God wants to do "in me" that it was tough transitioning to what God wants to do "through me." I think there will always be a tension between preaching to please God and preaching for the praise of people. I felt like I'm on the right side of that spectrum right now.
I've certainly my fair share of ups and downs during this forty days. I have unfulfilled goals. I still have unresolved issues. But I've seen what God can do when we put him first. I really feel like my life has revolved around him. And as long as I stay in orbit this forty days doesn't need to be an anomaly. It can be my new normal.