Fasting is never a form of self-punishment.Fasting is never a way to build our heavenly bank account.
Fasting is an act of worship, giving back what we always knew
never really belonged to us, so that God can bestow on us
something greater, Himself.
Fasting is an act of hospitality, cleaning out, emptying some organ or attribute of us, so that God can have more room during His visit.
Fasting is always a deliberate spending, even wasting, of our lives
on the slim chance that we might buy the world for God.
Fasting is always an act of abandonment, even of desertion,
of what we thought or have been told was our post or position in life,
in the hope that we will be proven wrong after all,
and find that God alone was right.
Fasting has little to do with food, but we do sometimes forget to eat while we're doing it.
Years ago I tried a couple of times to fast for a mere 24 hours (no food; only water). For many people, such a fast is quite simple. It made me distinctly ill, weak, vomiting. A godly friend told me not to do that again. I've followed his advice, but have found that doing without food even for a much briefer period can be spiritually useful. A tiny fast helps focus my mind on a special prayer request.
ReplyDeleteThank you for pointing out both the value of fasting and the fact that it's not a means of earning God's favor.
Lord, help the readers of this blog, including me, to learn to see fasting more nearly as you do.