2025: Intro: 40 Days of Jubilee Fasting: Embrace Restorative Divine Surprises

0:00 Hello, hello, beautiful people. Welcome to another episode of the Diary of a Black Woman podcast. I'm your host, Connie Morris, and today we're diving into a transformative journey that promises to unlock divine surprises and overflowing blessings in your life. Yes, I'm talking about the 40 days of Jubilee fasting. You know, we just covered July 1st. I downloaded three different episodes to get you excited about what God has for you in 2025. But I also want to prepare you properly so that you can actually make room for what God has for you to make space in your heart, to make space in your home, to make space in your life so that you can get everything that God has for you.

0:57 And so this is like fresh off the press and you got the download for a 2025 year of jubilee blessings and divine surprises. And so this is going to be just a prepping our hearts for a fast. It's going to be a 40 day fast. And I'm going to go into the instructions and you're going to decide how much fasting you want to do. But I'm going to give you the guidelines, the fasting guidelines on the proper way to fast, a proper way to prepare your hearts for what God has for you in 2025.

1:38 And the way that I understand it for me is we just had Christmas. We just celebrated Thanksgiving. And many times we have guests come over our house. and maybe we have a small apartment and maybe we have a big castle. We never know, right? But we do not usually have a house full of guests all the time, but we know how to prepare our homes for guests that's going to stay maybe one, two, three, four, five days. We know how to clear out corners. We know how to pull out those air mattresses. We know how to make room for human guests, right?

2:22 And so when God promises us a 2025 year of divine surprises and jubilee blessings, how can we. As human vessels, spirit beings, where the God of the universe resides on the inside of us, how can we prepare a space for him? How can we make room for him in our lives? And we do that by fasting. We prepare our hearts by fasting. And so in a season of Jubilee where blessings, restoration. God's promises will manifest in extraordinary ways, Jubilee is a time of release, renewal, and overflowing abundance, a divine reset where captives are set free, deaths are forgiven, and God's people walk in his favor.

3:17 So as we embark on this 40-day fast, let your hearts be filled with the expectation and faith that this journey will align with the miraculous blessings that God has prepared for us. Understanding that fasting is more than abstaining from food. It is a spiritual discipline that deepens our connection with God and prepares us to receive his best. Just as a year of jubilee in Leviticus 25 was a time of restoration and freedom, this fast is an opportunity to let go of burdens, break free from limitations, and position ourselves for God's divine surprises in the coming year.

4:09 This fast is not just about sacrifice. It's about preparing the ground for a harvest of blessings through prayer, reflection, and scripture. You will experience God's presence in a new and powerful way. So each day on this journey, I invite you to seek God's heart, to draw closer to him, to release past hurts and embrace the freedom found in his promises. And align your life with his divine purposes and plans. As you press into this fast, remember the words of Isaiah 61, 7. Instead of your shame, you will receive a double portion.

4:53 And instead of disgrace, you will rejoice in your inheritance. And so you will inherit a double portion in your land and an everlasting joy will be yours. So let this be your declaration as you step into your year of Jubilee blessings. Prepare your heart to be surprised for God's goodness, to walk in his favor, and to witness his miraculous power in every area of your life. This is your time to claim the promises of jubilee, restoration, freedom, and overflowing blessings. Let's journey together into 40 days of breakthrough and divine surprises, trusting that God's plans are exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or imagine.

5:46 I'm going to put a copy of the fasting devotional chapter 193 on the website. You can follow along there, but I'm going to cover a lot of the guidelines on this podcast so that we can prepare our hearts for what God has for us. 2025 is a year of divine surprises. And remember, this is not a fast, this is a spiritual journey. And so I want you to understand that I want you to not think of it as a fast, but I want you to think of what can you do different this year. What can you give God different this year and expect, like challenging yourself to do something that you've never done before and expecting God to do what he has never done before in your life.

6:38 To expect the miraculous, to expect the surprises, to live, I would say, on the edge every day and allowing God to just restore everything in your life that was broken, everything in your life that was stolen. And so let's just together make a miraculous plan for 2025, a year of jubilee. 2025 is a year of divine surprises, a year of jubilee blessings for restoration and God's promises will manifest in extraordinary ways.

7:19 So we have to have an expected heart so we can't be busy about nothing this year. Jubilee is a time of release, renewal and overflowing abundance. A divine reset where captives are set free, debts are forgiven, and God's people walk in his favor. So as we embark on this 40-day fast, let your heart be filled with expectation and faith that this journey will align with that. I'm sorry. Let your heart be filled with expectation and faith that this journey will align you with the miraculous blessings God has prepared. I know 40 days sound like a lot.

8:02 And as I go into explanation, don't you just panic. You can do it your way, a way that works for you in your life schedule. But I'm going to make it simple and easy. But I want you to remember, I want you to challenge yourself in this first part of the year because this is where a breakthrough happens in the beginning of the year. It sets the tone for what to expect in the middle and towards the end. And so 40 days seems like a lot, but just brace for the blessings. Amen. And so let your heart just be filled with expectation, not fear, not dread, not I can't do this.

8:47 I've never done it like this before. I think that's what the people in the Bible would say. I never plundered the Egyptians before. I never had an overflow of blessings before. That's what God wants to get us out of that mentality of this poverty mentality or this expecting negative to always happen. God wants us to begin to walk in his favor and always expect him to show up and to show out on our behalf. Amen. So I want to just to say this again, that jubilee is a time of release, renewal and an overflow of abundance.

9:30 It's a divine reset where captives are set free. Deaths are forgiven and God's people walk in his favor. Are you God's people? So as you embark on 40-day fast, let your hearts be filled with expectation and faith that this journey will align you with the miraculous blessings God has prepared. This podcast is going to be a little bit longer than my normal ones so that you can have something to listen to, to hold on to as you journey through this different time. This is a different season, even for me.

10:11 And so I made this one a little bit longer than the average ones so that you can have something of substance that you can listen to it. For me, I like to listen to things several different times to see, like, what did I miss the first time? Because when you hear 40 days, sometimes our hearing will go, I can't do this. And then we don't hear anything else. So maybe you need to listen to it more than once. So let's get going. I'm going to walk you through all the steps and guidelines so that you will have a successful fast, but you will understand the purpose and the meaning behind it. So you're not just going through the actions, but you can actually get the results you desire.

10:52 From God. And you can actually make that space that we spoke about earlier. Fasting is more than just abstaining from food. It's a spiritual discipline that deepens our connection with God and prepares us to receive his best. So when we think of preparation, who gets dressed for a fancy event without even taking a shower, without brushing their teeth? You know, ladies, we like to get our hair done, our nails done. That's a whole preparation period just to even go to an event. So why not do that for Jesus and prepare our hearts for his best?

11:33 Because he's going to give us his best. So just as a year of Jubilee in Leviticus 25 was a time of restoration and freedom, this fast is the opportunity to let go of burdens, to break free from limitations, and to position ourselves for God's divine surprises in the coming year. So as we're fasting, we're letting go of the things that do not serve us. What burdens, don't bring it into the new year. This is, I think this is going to probably be on January 2nd. So if you let something in on January 1st, get rid of it.

12:14 Do not bring it in. What limitations have you allowed yourself to say, you know, I can't do that. I can't do that. Cross that off your list, write it afresh, and make it a goal that you can accomplish all things through Christ who strengthens you. And then position yourself for God's divine surprises in this coming year. This fast is not just about sacrifice. It's about preparing the ground for a harvest of blessings. Through prayer, reflection, and scripture, you will experience God's presence in a new and powerful way. Each day of this journey is an invitation to seek God's heart and draw closer to him, release past hurts, and embrace the freedom found in his promises, and align your life with his divine purposes and plans.

13:07 So as you press into this fast, remember the words of Isaiah 61-7. Instead of your shame, you will receive a double portion. Instead of disgrace, you will receive in your inheritance. And so you will inherit a double portion in your land and everlasting joy will be yours. So it's like in your land, you will receive it. You ain't got to go anywhere. You will receive a double portion for your shame. Let this be your declaration as you step into the year of Jubilee blessings. So I want to break down this 40-day journey. Most of the details, like I said, I put it on my website, Diary of a Black Woman, LLC.

13:54 But I'm going to do as much as I can to show you what to expect in a 40-day fast. And then I'll tell you what type of fast. Anytime you've given up something, you're going to expect some different things to happen. I'm not expecting you to go extreme. I mean, you know your body, but you know when you have already went too far, you know, like you've ate too much, you know, you can give up something and you know your body is going to resist it. Your body is going like, you don't need that. Give that up. Right. So, you know, but I'm going to give you an example of what happens to your body when you pretty much start to give up some things in your life. This is the extreme cases, so pay attention.

14:40 On days one through three is detox and adjustment. So you're just doing water, a water fast. Listen, just only a water fast. And you're giving up water. You're just drinking water for the first one to three days. Just only drinking water. You're physical. You're going to have hunger pains, headaches, fatigue, and irritability. But your spiritual focus, you want to lean on Matthew 4.4. Man should not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out the mouth of God. So you can expect the first three days to be, I can say, miserable. Because your body is going to want to fight against you.

15:23 Your body is like a timer. You're so used to eating at the same time every day. And it's like a spoiled brat. You have to get it in line. So the first three days, drink water, drink water, drink tea, just drink liquids. Try not to have any solid foods that day. Sometimes don't go dry because your body needs water, but expect these things to happen. Your body is on a timer. If you usually eat at eight o'clock or nine, whatever your normal eating time is, expect your body to have that hunger pain. Go ahead and drink some water. I like to drink it cold because then it kind of takes that energy that is hunger and it allows it to just use that energy to warm up the water in your body and move along.

16:14 So when you get hungry, just drink some water. And sometimes water is not enough, then go take a nap. But this is not about you. This is about getting your body in line with God. Right. So expect hunger, pains, headaches and irritability. But remember, man should not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out the mouth of God. If you can, begin to pick up your Bible, go back and read the Bible out loud, walk around reading your Bible out loud. If you have some degrees, listen to the podcast again, some of the podcasts, your previous podcast, maybe your favorite one. to just kind of refocus your mind.

16:55 As you begin to learn to refocus your mind off of food. Then you'll, that's kind of like training your body. If you've been in any type of physical endurance training, you just got to refocus your mind. And then pretty soon it becomes a habit. So day one, you can expect challenges. Day two, some challenges. Day three, some challenges. Okay. Day four through six, the ketosis begin. And so your body will begin to, hunger will start to decrease because now your body realizes it's not going to get the food. And so it'll start to use the fat that's stored for energy.

17:36 And so if you got a lot of fat storage, then you should be good. And usually you begin at this part, I always talk to my body and say, you know what? You need to start eating some of that fat that you kind of saved for this particular day. And so your hunger will decrease and your body using fats stored for energy. So begin to notice that. The scripture for those next three days would be Psalms 34, 8. It says, taste and see that the Lord is good. And so tell your body to taste and see that the Lord is good. You are set to survive this. It's not like your body will make you seem like, oh my gosh, if I don't eat something, I'm going to die.

18:24 No, you're not going to die. You're going to die to self and your spirit is going to begin to survive. Be more bigger than your flesh. And so allow that your hunger will decrease and your body will begin to use the stored fat for energy. So begin to, I usually say, okay, now is your time to use that fat that you have been saving for this particular day. And so, and still, like I said, continue to drink your water. And now we're at day seven to 10. Things to get a little clearer. I think after the sixth day for me, things start to get a little clearer. Your energy levels will stabilize slightly. So that first six days, it seemed like you have no energy.

19:10 And then after that seven to 10 days, things start to stabilize. Your body says, okay, you're not going to feed me. I'm going to survive off of the fat that's been stored. And all of a sudden, clarity comes. Your eyes, Everything's clear. And then this is a time where you really, your spirit begins to be very sensitive too. So your energy levels stabilize and then spiritual focus is you can pick your scriptures. I'm just using scriptures that I'm using here in my devotional is Isaiah 58, 6. It says to lose the bonds of wickedness. And that can be a prayer or decree that we're going to focus on loosing the bonds of wickedness, things that are going on around you in your life.

19:59 Just begin to focus on that particular scripture or your scripture, whatever scriptures you have for your 40 days. Days 11 to 15, it says deeper spiritual awareness. Physical hunger is minimal, but fatigue or coldness may increase. I noticed that during this time, you seem like you're a little bit more colder. So you might put on maybe a sweatshirt and some socks. So you're not hungry. You're just a little bit cold. And you'll notice that even at night, you might need to put on a little thicker pajamas. But you're sleeping better too because your body is now at this humming stage.

20:43 And so as hunger is minimal, but fatigue or coldness may increase. Focus on Isaiah 40, 31. They will soar like wings like eagle. And so this is a chance where you're going to feel this deeper spiritual awareness where you're going to start now. Maybe your spiritual alertness, you maybe begin to hear in the spirit. Maybe you never heard any sounds in the spirit. There are sounds in the spirit realm. God's voice will become a little bit more clearer, a lot more clearer, I would say, because there's no interruptions. Your body is now, everything that's working is now silent, and now you can hear everything else.

21:29 Everything is silent. You'll notice a little bit more spiritual awareness. Day 16 to 20, this is just a water fast. So this is extreme. So even if you cut out, even if you're just drinking maybe just juice or something, this is pretty much the same, but not at the same level. It takes a little bit longer. Your physical weakness may increase. And so avoid strenuous activity. So at a certain point of this water fast or any liquid fast, you're going to notice you're going to feel a little bit weaker. So don't go out trying to run miles. If you're working out, lifting weights, just kind of take this time to use that time to pray or meditate on John 6, 35.

22:18 I'm the bread of life. Scripture, Jesus is the bread of life. So weakness may increase. Avoid any strenuous activity. And then this is when the breakthrough happened at days 21 to 25. Then once again, like you see how this roller coaster happens, days 21 to 25, the spiritual breakthrough. So what you've been waiting for begins to happen right here. Your mental clarity sharpens. So now it's like more. So now your brain is now clear. Remember, your spirit is clear. Now your brain is clear. So you're able to focus more and reflect on 2 Corinthians 12.9. My grace is sufficient for you.

23:03 My power is made perfect in your weakness. Most time fast ends at about the 21st day. So if you're on a 21 day and you say, I'm good here, this is a good chance where you might want to say, I want to try a little bit more. If you're on a water fast, I'll say here would be a good chance to maybe add some more liquid to your diets, get off the water. If you've never done a 40, don't do a 40 without doctor's permission. You might need to do something else. Add some juice to it so you can get some more energy. Maybe add some shakes to it. Begin to kind of come off of this for your 21 day.

23:44 You can go with 40, but you're not going to continue with water because you're not ready. So just don't do extreme things on the first day, right? So just take your 40 and just continue your journey with, you can go into the Daniels, do a shake, but do something different. You made it to 21, then you never done 21. Hey, you did good. Slowly breaking your fast. Google how to break it. You want to always start with clear liquids. Then you want to go into full liquids, which, and then maybe some soups and don't eat anything solid until you pass your first bowel. That's how you, that's how you know your body is ready to digest food.

24:28 Okay. Let's go to days 26 to 30. Sustained focus. Weakness persists, but spiritual strength increases. So now your flesh is now dying on the 26 to 30 on a water fast, maybe even on a juice fast. Juice is a little bit better because you got a little bit of energy, a little sugar to keep you going. But on the water, you're going to feel really weak right about now, but your spirit is going to be strong. So Philippians 4.13 is, I can do all things to Christ who strengthens me. Like I said, this is not for everybody. This is just instructions, a guideline for those who have done it before and they already know this. This is just not new information.

25:15 For those who want to challenge themselves to a 40-day water fast, I would say seek your doctor. Make sure you're under a doctor's care. Don't do anything extreme because you can really get hurt. 21 days, maybe 10 or 12 days is probably the limit with just water, but you can do juice and you know your body. When you feel like it's getting to be too much, then you stop. Talk with the Lord. Follow the Holy Spirit guidance in all that you do. Days 31 through 35, closer to the glory, I added. Weakness intensifies. Focus on hydration, rest, and meditative prayer.

25:56 Meditate on Isaiah 58, 11. The Lord will guide you always. He will satisfy your needs in a scorched land. And so God's glory, you would just kind of notice things look brighter at 31 and 35. Why? Because nothing else is going on but the spirit. Your body has now settled to it like a hibernation. Unless you're eating some food or anything, if you're just doing water, your body is now resting, a final rest. Your body has kind of quieted down. And so now when your body, flesh is quiet, your spirit is more alive and active because now you're aware.

26:39 That's why I said closer to the glory because everything else is quiet. And so now you're going to experience just a whole different experience. Everything looks brighter. I would say everything looks brighter, like brighter, brighter, brighter. People look at you like you lost a lot of weight. People go into shock and awe, but you are like, this is the best I've felt in a long time. People always notice when you're losing weight, but don't make a big deal about it. Say, no, I'm fine. I'm good. Thank you. but you are experiencing this hyper glory sensation. And then we go into days 36 to 39 is the final push.

27:23 Extreme weakness may be present, but spiritual clarity and focus peak. So now you're at your best right here. As we get ready to close out the fast, you're at your spiritual peak. Reflect on Romans 12.1. Offer your body at a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This is your true and proper worship. And then at day 40, it's the spiritual victory. Physical weakness may persist, but joy and satisfaction in completing the fast has dominated. Rejoice in 2 Timothy 4, 7. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.

28:07 Remember, anything after 40 days is caused starvation. So then your body will shut down and you will go into, you can actually die. So your body now is all quiet. You need to slowly add strength. Some juices, you got water, start to add some broth and then slowly some full liquids, some nice warm soups just to warm your body up like some liquids, then maybe some full soups until your body starts to get into that first bowel movement. And then don't jump into a whole hamburger and meat.

28:49 Save that for maybe about seven days later. You want to just take your time at waking up your body. You do not want to destroy your body. So just take your time. I just kind of walk you through the extreme case. But we're going to go through different types of fasting. But I want you to understand what to expect if you did a water fast or just a juice fast. But remember, breaking the fast is just essential as the fast itself. Gradually reintroduce light foods like broth, fruits, diluted juices to avoid overwhelming your digestive system. Take time to reflect on God's faithfulness during your fast and journal the insights, breakthrough, and blessings he has revealed.

29:38 So you always think that when you finish a 40-day fast, you'll feel like I'm super, super hungry. But you really won't be. Your belly has now shrunk, you know, to probably, I don't know how big it was before, right? But your appetite is really shrunk. So you'd be surprised that a cup of broth would be satisfying. A half of banana would be satisfying, right? And you'll start to notice that you're not as famished as you thought you would be. Because what you used to eat, you probably won't even get back to that meal size for a little while. And you will enjoy your new profound sighs, but also your new profound insights and relationship with God.

30:24 And so I want to pray for this first section, and then we'll go forth. Heavenly Father, we come before you with hearts full of gratitude for sustaining us through this 40-day journey of fasting and prayer. We thank you for your strength in our weakness, your peace in our struggles, and your presence that has drawn us closer to you each day. As we complete this fast, we hold fast to the promise of your word, especially those found in Isaiah 58. We declare that you have loosed to change the wickedness and set us free from every yoke.

31:04 You have illuminated our path and your light now shines like the dawn. Our healing has come swiftly and your righteousness goes before us as our shield. We trust you to provide for us abundantly, to restore what has been lost and to open doors that no one can shut. Rejoice in your freedom, healing, and joy that you have given us. In Jesus' mighty name, amen. So I thank you for joining me on this episode of Diary of Black Women podcast. Remember, this is your time to claim the promises of the jubilee, restoration, and freedom, overflowing blessings and let journey, let's journey together for this 40 days of breakthrough and divine surprises.

31:52 Trusting God's plan are exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or imagine. The next time we get together, we're going to talk about what true fasting and transformative living looks like according to Isaiah 58. So until next time, God bless you. Thank you.