You saw how incredibly beneficial fasting is, in our last post:
8 LIFE-CHANGING BENEFITS OF FASTING.
.
We saw that there are many natural advantages that come with fasting.
For example, fasting resets your body; which then can help you get to a healthier weight, release toxins from your body or even improve your mental health!
So, it isn’t a surprise that 24% of US adults have tried some form of fasting as their regular diet.
With that being said, fasting is able to do way more than just improve your physical health; it’s able to take your spiritual health to a whole new level!
However, unless we approach fasting in a God-centered way, we will not see it’s richest benefits!
After all,
what good is a rejuvenated body, when your heart is still a mess?
This is why you may not be seeing improvement in your spiritual life during your fasting season.
It’s because your understanding of proper fasting is shaped by culture instead of shaped by God’s word.
You have fasting ALL wrong!
If you’re looking to deepen your relationship with God, expand your faith and strengthen your character, allow us to show you how fasting can help!
Remember,
there is a right way and a wrong way to approach fasting when it comes to spiritual impact!
This isn’t information based on my personal opinion, this is straight from God!
So, how do we approach fasting in a way that will positively impact our faith?
in Isaiah 58, we see how God describes the difference between
futile and fruitful fasting.
Isaiah 58:3-14 NKJV…
“‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’ “In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, And exploit all your laborers. Indeed you fast for strife and debate, And to strike with the fist of wickedness. You will not fast as you do this day, To make your voice heard on high. Is it a fast that I have chosen, A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, And to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, And an acceptable day to the Lord? “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ “If you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday. The Lord will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In. “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, From doing your pleasure on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the Lord honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking your own words, Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the Lord has spoken.””
We see that God doesn’t determine the success of your fast based on the level of affliction that you endured while fasting!
Oftentimes, we think that we had a spiritually successful fast if we are suffering and desperately distressed.
If we start seeing our sacrifice as something worth the recognition from God, others or even ourselves, our fast was a waste of time.
Nothing meaningful will come from that!
We need to determine in each moment that we fast;
Am I doing this to be seen or heard from God or others…
or
am I doing this God’s way?
God said,
“Is it a fast that I have chosen, A day for a man to afflict his soul?”
God’s goal for fasting is NOT that we suffer more!
Can our suffering still bring us closer to God?
Absolutely!
However, God didn’t ask us to fast to inflict more suffering!
This is a false understanding in regards to Biblical fasting, but it’s so common among Christians.
Fasting in this way will not prosper as we expect.
We believe that God wants us to fast in a way that looks and feels painful…
That He will bless a fast that appears to be a real sacrifice for us; but the only benefit that we will gain from this type of fasting is acknowledgment from people and a sense of accomplishment from within ourselves.
How do we fast God’s way and actually see something meaningful come from it?
God tells us the fast that He has chosen in Isaiah 58:6-7 NKJV…
““Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh?”
Fasting God’s way looks like:
- Our addictions and cycles being broken!
- Relief from burdens and oppression!
- An opportunity to give what you are refraining from to those who are in need!
- The ability to see the ways that you can fulfill others needs instead of just your own.
God doesn’t rejoice when we are in lack…
He does rejoice when we give to other people who are in need, what we could have used to satisfy our own desires!
We forget that the needs of the less fortunate are the same as ours.
Fasting reminds us of what it feels like to go without.
God asks us only to love Him and love people.
Fasting is a way to move closer in that direction.
We definitely gain discipline during a fast, but we also have an opportunity to gain compassion for those who are in need.
What if fasting is more about what God can do through us, for others; not what we can benefit for ourselves?
This changes the game for us!
We thought fasting was to gain something for ourselves!
God leads us to fast mainly for the purpose of sharing what we have with others!
Fasting can be the very thing that opens our eyes to the needs of those around us, that we otherwise overlook because we are so satisfied and secure.
It’s true that fasting can result in physical, mental and even spiritual gain, in our personal lives.
Yet, there is something we might be missing…
The most powerful and beautiful benefit of fasting!
Fasting helps us love people and it brings us closer than ever before, to understanding their needs!
We might just find out while fasting,
That the needs of others are no different than our own needs.
This might just encourage us to share with them what we have, because we now know what their lacking feels like.
If fasting is about our personal gain, then we have it ALL WRONG!
However, if fasting is more about God’s kingdom, then
we are fasting exactly how God intended us to fast!
Photo by Eva Bronzini
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
