This post is apart of the blog series 21 Lessons in 21 Days
Lesson Eighteen: Fasting helps you grow closer to God
This year I learned that fasting is a spiritual discipline. I used to think it was just something people did because they either wanted to diet or wanted to see how long they could go without something. I learned that fasting serves as a way to be more intimate with God. It’s an opportunity to become more dependent on Him, rather than those things we feel we need like food, social media, tv shows and phones in general. When done right, it makes you commit to God and focus on necessity.
I fasted for the first time this year and boy was it hard! I felt God leading me to do it. I kept hearing things about it at church and in random conversations, so I decided to try it. I gave up all food and social media for four days straight (it’s good to start short and work your way up). The four day time period I chose happened to fall on the first few days of RA training, which usually means lots of good free food. Whenever it was a meal time I would drink water and either read a bible plan on my phone or continuously say a verse in my head. I was doing really well until one day we had a mandatory staff dinner at a restaurant that served my favorite foods. I had to sit in front of and next to people that were eating my favorites and all I could do was drink my water and pretend not to be dying inside. I made it through the night somehow, but I feel like that was the ultimate test for me. And in the endurance of my fast I got closer to God, making our relationship grow stronger.
When Jesus fasted he went without food for 40 days and 40 nights. And the same way I was tempted toward the end of my fast, He was too. He was really hungry, and the devil came along to remind Him that as the son of God He could literally turn a stone into bread and eat it. Even through His hunger, though, He knew that the Word of God was more important than food. He was able to keep His fast going because He relied on Gods strength. It’s such a powerful feeling to complete a fast without allowing any temptations to ruin it. So my lesson learned? Fasting is really important for learning to rely on God more, and you have to do it for the right reasons for it to be effective.
JOURNEYING TO PEACE 