As many of you know, we’re in the midst of 21 days of prayer and fasting as a church. And … it’s … HARD! If you’re fasting, I don’t like it any more than you do, but I think that’s the point.
In our Americanized Christianity, we can get pretty comfortable. We become consumers who approach church the way we approach a buffet. We pick and choose what we like, and for those dishes we dislike, we simply keep them off our plate of religious preference.
Fasting from food makes us uncomfortable, frustrated, weak, and “hangry.” But in those moments of discomfort, we turn to the God of comfort who fills us more substantively than food ever could. We rely on His strength, His presence, His grace. When we are weak, then we are strong (2 Corinthians 12:10).
One of my prayers in these days of fasting is that I won’t waste this opportunity to grow deeper in my relationship with Jesus. Part of me wants to be done with fasting so I can get on with feasting. But fasting makes us slow down and wait, seek, and rest. This is a moment of becoming, not doing. And becoming takes time.
Whether you are fasting or not, I encourage you to enter a season of self-discovery. Who are you? What is at the core of your identity? Fasting forces us to deny ourselves in order to discover who we truly are. It takes courage to face facts. You are not a self-made man or woman. You are not as strong as you think you are. You are not completely self-reliant or self-sufficient. In fact, the more self-centered you are, the less fulfilled you are with yourself.
The inward focus of self-discovery exposes our weakness and our need to re-center ourselves in Jesus, who gives us our ultimate self-worth. The Apostle Paul quoted the Greek poet Epimenides when he said to the Athenians, “In Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).
It takes courage to deny ourselves that which brings comfort, fills our stomachs, and satisfies our cravings. We would much rather eat that pizza, pasta, steak, or burrito and move on with the rest of our day. Sometimes, however, it is good to deny ourselves physical sustenance in order to awaken our spiritual hunger. Our dependence on food is subjugated by our dependence on the Spirit.
David cried out, “Awake my soul!” (Psalm 57:8). Make that your prayer over the next two weeks. Our 21 days of prayer and fasting end January 31. May God awaken your soul to Him. May your hunger draw you to a deeper hunger for God’s presence. May your physical emptiness be filled with a spiritual fullness that leads you forward in faith. As God gains ground in your heart, may you gain ground in your marriage, family, work, and community.
“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58).
