Fasting.
What is it about withholding from ourselves the food that we need to survive? Why is this in the Bible? What does it truly do for us?
Unfortunately, I don’t have the complete answer to any of those questions. It’s something that has puzzled me for years, and to be perfectly honest, it’s not a concept I particularly like to think about. Fasting means not eating. Not eating means you’re hungry. Crabby. Tired. It means blood sugars drop. But perhaps the most meaningful to me is that it means withholding something that I really enjoy!
Yes, I am ashamed to admit, I live to eat. I eat for comfort, when I’m stressed, to reward myself, to celebrate, you name it. I just enjoy food. Funny thing is, no matter how much I eat, I always crave more. So fasting means that I give up one of my greatest pleasures!
I was once thoroughly criticized by a dear brother from a different religion for the Christian concept of fasting. Since the Bible talks about fasting, why don’t we do this regularly? Aren’t religions that mandate how and when you fast better than Christianity?
It’s true. The Bible doesn’t mandate when or how we fast. It doesn’t even mandate how long or how often. We know from Biblical figures that some fasted a day, some three days, some 40 days. Some undertook a total abstinence from food and water; others just from food; and others from “no rich foods”. This latter is now known as “a Daniel fast” and is based on Daniel 10:2b: “All that time I had eaten no rich food. No meat or wine crossed my lips…” (NLT). We also know from this same passage that the concept of fasting doesn’t only involve abstinence from food; for in the same verse, Daniel said, “and I used no fragrant lotions until those three weeks had passed.” (vs. 2c NLT).
My take away on this is that fasting in the Bible simply means that we give up something that is meaningful to us, and we do it for as long as the Lord places it on our hearts to do so; or, as in the case with Daniel, until the desired result comes to be.
I find this method so much more flexible in fitting the need at hand than the structured, stringent rules applied to fasting by other world religions. For example, I recently did a desert fast for a problem at my son’s church. I told God I would continue it until the problem was resolved. Another time I did a total food fast one day a week until the problem at hand was resolved. Other times I’ve done regular fasting once a week simply for the purpose of drawing closer to God.
But back to my original question: Just how does fasting draw us closer to God?
Again, I don’t have a complete understanding of this, but I believe the answer is that fasting creates a scenario where God is better able to come near to us. Think about it:
* Giving up something you think you need is saying that the only thing you need is God.
* Giving up something relied upon for our health and good humour is saying that you trust God to fill in where the food does not.
* Giving up your stress management strategy is saying that God is our stress management, that we are completely dependent upon Him.
Because all three of these things bring us to the place where we need God and nothing else, God can move in closer to us, and we can move closer to Him.
I wonder, however, if there isn’t something even more profound behind the concept of fasting… You see, when we acknowledge that we only need God; when we put our total trust in His ability to sustain us; when we allow God to manage our stress, aren’t we, “humbling ourselves before Him”? Deuteronomy 30:7 tells us that humility is the key to all good things from the Lord: “Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.” (NLT). Both Peter and James tell us: “So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor.” (1 Peter 5:6 NLT; see also James 4:10).
So then, when we humble ourselves, God hears us, He forgives our sins, He restores us, and He lifts us to honour!
Let’s take another look at Daniel. We know that Daniel fasted regularly, and we know that each time he was visited by an angel, he had been fasting. Daniel knew that fasting led to humility, and he experienced first-hand the power of humility. I find it incredibly interesting, however, to see how the angel sent to Daniel spoke of Daniel’s fasting-induced humility: “He said, ‘Daniel, you who are highly esteemed…'” (Daniel 10:11a NIV). Remember that the angel was a messenger from God; therefore, this message can only mean one thing: God esteemed Daniel very highly! Why? Because of his humility!
No, I don’t have all the answers in regards to fasting; but I do know one thing for certain: Fasting brings us into a position of total humility, resulting in complete submission and reliance upon God. It is in these conditions that God is able to: 1) hear from heaven; 2) forgive our sin; 3) restore what is lost; and 4) lift us up to honour!
If you don’t make fasting a regular habit, why not try it today? Ask God what to withhold and for how long, and then set about doing it. You will be amazed at how near God begins to feel as we humble ourselves before Him in utter submission and reliance.
In His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart, Speech-Language Pathologist, mother of two adult boys, Author — “Aboard God’s Train — A Journey With God Through the Valley of Cancer”, Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, Scriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, The Illustrator, a four-times-a-week internet newsletter, and the Sermon Illustrator website, all with Answers2Prayer Ministries.
