Prior to about three weeks ago, the idea of fasting was completely foreign to me. I had heard about it, seen it in the pages of my Bible, and known people who did it, but personally was clueless as to what it was. To be honest, I was kind of afraid of fasting. I didn’t want to imagine a whole day (or even more) without food. In fact, that was my nightmare: not being able to consume the massively large portions of food I eat throughout the day. So, because of my fear of fasting, every time that the idea would come up I would ignore it. It was only until a couple weeks into the Race that I even opened up my heart and allowed God to teach me about it.
The Lord showed me that fasting leads us into deeper reliance on the Holy Spirit. During my whole walk with Christ, I’ve been praying for more and more of the Spirit of God, yet I had closed off one of the best ways to cultivate that. However, when I allowed God to call me into this spiritual discipline I found that it took me into total dependence on him. I saw this truth in the temptation of Jesus. After being baptized and receiving the Holy Spirit, he was led into the desert to be tempted by the enemy. Prior to this, Jesus had fasted for forty days and forty nights and he was very hungry. As satan tried to tempt him, he replied with Scripture saying, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4.4). Christ, through fasting, was living only off of the Word of God. He was consumed in total reliance on just the Spirit, and as a result was empowered to resist temptation. Similarly, God has “graciously given spiritual food and drink and life eternal through [his] son” to us so that we may give thanks and bring glory to his name (Brennan 10.3). So, it’s seen here that fasting can bring us into deeper intimacy with the Father while also fostering our ability to live righteously.
With this, care must be taken as it is easy to pollute the purity of fasting. It is meant for one reason and one reason alone: to bring us closer to God. As humans, we are destined to mess this up, and a great example of this comes from the lives of the Pharisees in the Bible. These pious men took the idea of fasting and made it into a self-glorifying religious act. They would purposefully “look gloomy” and “disfigure their faces” so that others would know that they were fasting and think highly of them (Matt. 6.16). However, Jesus instructs us to not let anyone be aware of when we fast as to keep it a secret that only God knows of. This is because the discipline of fasting should come from a humble heart and be second to pursing God in righteousness. In a parable from the Shepherd of Hermas, the author describes how perfect fasting comes only after the person keeps “thyself from every evil desire, and purify(s) thy heart from all the vanities of the world” (Lightfoot 3.6). So, it is seen here that fasting does not make us pure, but springs forth from the purity that Jesus creates in us. In the end, this practice should not be used for our edification, but only to bring our Heavenly Father glory.Our God is a marvelous God. He is so much bigger than any mind could try to comprehend. I believe that fasting is a great way to step aside from yourself and experience the vastness of Jesus Christ. Just to know him more deeply, I will now gladly give up any portion of food or drink. The days will get harder and the temptations will always arise, but as the famous Hymn 407 reads “Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,” through every hardship “it is well with my soul.” To God alone be the glory.
Works Cited
Brannan, Rick, tran. The Apostolic Fathers in English. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012. Accessed via Logos Bible Software.
“Hymn 407.” Hymns of Grace, Pew ed., The Master’s Seminary Press, 2011.
Lightfoot, J. B., & Harmer, J. R. (1891). The Apostolic Fathers. London: Macmillan and Co. Page 7. Exported from Logos Bible Software, 11:17 3 September, 2018.
