What’s the longest you’ve gone without eating? Maybe a couple meals because you got too busy. Maybe a few days because you got sick, and the thought of eating was disgusting. How did it feel to go that long? Eventually, the hunger pangs become too much to bear, and we need to get something in our stomachs.
When we fast, we intentionally put ourselves in a state of need and desire. A state we don’t often feel this time of year. We deny ourselves immediate relief because we need a reminder of our ultimate relief. When we feel the rumble of need, we should ask ourselves, “do I want God as much as I want the thing I am fasting from?” We can learn a lot about ourselves when we go without. God is our ultimate portion, and we when deprive ourselves of other things we can learn to appreciate all the God has given us.
The book of Ezra tells the story of the people returning to Jerusalem. The journey was not always safe. Ezras 8:21-23 tells us, “21 Then I proclaimed a fast there…that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, … ‘The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.’ 23 So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.”
God is enough for us. God leads us down the good path, if we only have a mind to follow. One important note about fasting. Fasting generally refers to avoiding food, but you can fast from anything you use regularly. Fast from coffee, fast from your phone, fast from screens in general, fast from music, the list could go on forever. If you are someone who doesn’t have the best relationship with food, then fasting from it might not be the best option. But there are still plenty of ways to learn from intentional fasting.