Nov 17 - Matthew 6:16-18

And whenever you fast,

do not look dismal,

like the hypocrites,

for they disfigure their faces

so as to show others

that they are fasting.

Truly I tell you, they have

received their reward.

But when you fast,

put oil on your head and

wash your face,

so that your fasting

may be seen not by others

but by your Father

who is in secret; and

your Father who sees in secret

will reward you.

Matthew 6:16-18

What is fasting?

It is purposefully doing without something ... for a heavenly purpose. 

Abstaining from food is clearly the most common form of fasting in the Bible. 

What fasting does is surface our physical hungers. We humans are certainly driven by physical desires. Some physical motivations are primarily a form of reflex -- for example, if a lion jumps in front of us on a path, our response will likely be fight or flight. It's virtually automatic. We scream (and run) or spring (into action).

So what happens if a man sees a cookie? If he's like me, a desire arises within him. (Is eating the chocolate chip confection a reflex?) 

How about this one ... if a man sees a naked female form, does a different but potent desire arise reflexively within him?

In many ways those "hungers" -- physical hunger and lust -- stem from a moment of instantaneous reflex. But what we do with those desires is an intentional choice. Fasting trains us to control our desires ... and thereby allows us to choose a deeper, more purposeful life. 

By fasting from food, I begin to understand the force of physical desire on my life. I see what really controls me. I see the effect that "withdrawal" has upon me. Is it impatience? Anger? Depression? Or is it the cropping up of a different bad habit or longing? Fasting can lay me bare and reveal who I am. 

It's humbling. But when we God into this humbling hungering, we begin to see God's love and provision. It's bigger than the hunger. It's bigger than the pain. Indeed, when I realize how weak I am (and often grouchy and ugly about it) -- and when I realize that God still loves me even at my ugliest -- then God's power begins to provide when my weakness can't. 

We will all face trials in our lives. Fasting is a voluntary trial. It reveals who we are in a humbling way. It reveals who God is in an empowering way. And most of all, it trains us to trust in God's provision in a safe environment, before real lions -- including lions like cancer -- jump out in front of us. 

In Christ's Love,

a guy who shouldn't be

writing about fasting

a week before thanksgiving

(maybe the week after

New Years when we're

all ready to start our diets!)

Wait ... fasting isn't dieting!

The latter is physical.

The former is spiritual.