Matt 6:16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others the are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.”
I’m not very good at fasting. I have a really hard time with that kind of self-deprivation. I’m afraid that when it comes to that, I am rather like the hypocrite spoken of in Matthew, loudly disclaiming my hunger, not able to move past the immediate discomfort, receiving no other reward.
Isaiah 58:6 “Is not this the fast I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed free, and to break every yoke?
But I suspect the purpose of fasting is to draw a person deeper into the Savior. Much like the last mile of a half marathon for me, when I have to give it all to God and get out of His way to finish in His strength because mine is gone, I suspect fasting is one more way to push aside all of the things of this world and instead draw solely and completely from God’s store of strength and grace instead of our own pitiful reserves.
Daniel 9:3 So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with Him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.
Lord, Thank You for this day and for ways to draw closer to You, to depend more fully on You. Thank You for the understanding that self-deprivation is about getting ourselves out of the way so that we can cling more closely to You, depend more fully on You. Help all of us find ways to draw closer and to depend more completely on You than on ourselves. Reshape our hearts to be more like Yours. Amen.
Matt 4:4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Have a blessed day.
My faith, my life, my teaching–it's all a work in progress.