If you are like us and are recognising this Lenten period with a time of fasting, congratulations! Lent is halfway finished and we truly hope that this has been a time of self-discovery, God discovery and growth in your walk. If you are not fasting right now but you have before or you want to, then we pray that whenever your time of sacrifice comes, it will be fruitful and pleasing to the Lord. We pray that your fasting will be effective and not empty rituals.
“Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.” 2 Corinthians 7:1
One of the reasons that we fast is in an effort to work towards holiness and growth in God. We deny ourselves things of this world and sacrifice things that we like in favour of time with God. It is a declaration that, while we can survive for a time without food, earthly pleasures, sleep and even water, we cannot survive without God!
Psalm 63: 5 says, “You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy.” Nothing that we ever have in this world compares to God and His wonders. By relying on Him, we teach ourselves, and possibly others, that He is the first priority and I can survive as long as He leads me.
Unfortunately, there are times when, while we are proud of how well we are surviving without whatever we gave up, God is still not pleased with us and our fast is ineffective. This is because while we are pleased with our action, God looks at the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7)
So whenever you chose to fast or deny yourself, think about these things:
*Has God been placed at the forefront of this period?
While God is supposed to always be the priority of our lives, we admit that sometimes the world invades and other things demand our attention. However, a fast is a wonderful way to realign your priorities. During a fast, are you spending more time with God than you were before? Are you relying on Him to sustain you?
The enemy often tries to ruin our fasts by presenting something else to take the place of whatever we gave up and we often don’t notice. For example, we give up food and now find ourselves watching more television, spending more time online, more time on the phone. We enter a fast and all of a sudden, work becomes more demanding. We think that since we have not eaten, then our fast is working, but all we have done is replace one activity with another secular one and God is given no more attention than before.
Therefore be alert for the tricks and temptations from the enemy. He is crafty and won’t always try to deceive you by tempting you with whatever you gave up (although he will try that too!). Sometimes he will just ensure that you get nothing from the fast because you have not spent any time with God.
*How have I changed during and after my fast?
Have you ever heard someone say, “I would tell you something but we’re at church.” Or “Don’t curse; it’s Sunday.” While it’s good for us to have reverence for the church and Sundays, if on every other day and in every other place we do the things that are displeasing to Him, then He disregards our attempts! In the same way, if we put away the actions that are displeasing to God during our fast, only to take them up again once the fast is over, then our period of denial would have been in vain. In Isaiah 58, God addresses this same issue. Vs. 5 says, “Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves?”
If we are giving up something only to still be doing evil in His eyes, then the focus is not on Him and He is not pleased. Our fasting should run in tandem with a life, and with actions, that are pleasing to God.
Therefore, how have you been responding differently during your fast? How have you changed? In Matthew 6, Jesus implores us to make fasting a private matter, “Then no one will know that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.” (vs. 18) Therefore, people should be surprised if they hear that you’ve been fasting because you look so good and healthy! They should not be surprised because you have been doing the same evil things that are not consistent with someone who is purified in Christ!
“No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.”
Sacrificing for God is a good thing so let us ensure that our fast is always FOR God and that our lives, actions and words reflect someone who has benefitted from time WITH God.
The Nobility 