(This is day eighteen of the Rediscovering the Christmas Season Advent Study that can be found here. You don’t have to start at the beginning. In fact, you can jump in any time or go in any order. Care to join?)
Read Isaiah 58 and Matthew 6: 16-18.
Christmas is generally a time for feasting. Take at least a day to fast from something.
Why do you think Jesus asked us to fast? What kid of fasting does Isaiah say the Lord requires? Fasting requires discipline, which is something all of us could use more of. Okay, so I could use more. To me, it is like dedicating a thing or the time required to do a thing to the Lord. It’s saying He is more important than whatever I’m fasting, that I’m focusing on Him. Boy, do I need a focus reset! His fasting is sacrificial, it seems, a giving to others, a setting free.
Why do you think it is difficult for people to make fasting a habit? How can you incorporate fasting into your regular worship? I think it’s tough because fasting is hard. We can be kind of comfortable, and we like that. It’s uncomfortable to fast. It requires a sacrifice. It might even require us to say no to somebody or put us in a position to explain our faith. Some people struggle with that. It’s something not a lot of people understand, because a lot of churches don’t teach it anymore. It almost seems like a Ghandi/mystic thing. I think Satan has perpetrated a lie about it, and we’ve gone along with it.
Journal about your experience with fasting. What did you learn? How did it change you? Consider joining or forming a group of believers who set aside the first 21 says of the New Year to fast something. Honestly, I probably need a fast. I’ve gotten a little strong-willed and likely need to find a way to remind myself it’s God who is in charge. Sounds like a good way to start the New Year, huh? I have fasted before and, trust me, it does increase discipline. It does increase awareness of God. I’ve learned I don’t need the things I think I need and that there are a lot of things that I can make into idols in my life. Fasting doesn’t have to be full-on no food. It can be fasting something that takes up time or something that you feel you have to have every day. It can be one meal a day or a full day of no food. A TV show or TV completely. Coffee. Chocolate. Anything it hurts to give up. Because every time you feel the pull for it, it focuses you on God.
-JB
Dawn Lucowitz says
1. I think too often we don’t look at fasting as a spiritual discipline. We don’t view it as something we are supposed to be doing. Too many churches don’t teach on fasting and don’t spend enough time on it. It is so much more than just giving up something. It is a conscious giving up something in order to rely on God and fill us with more of Him. The Club Beyond Leader here at Fort Lee has been talking about fasting this month. It is something that he has brought up because it has been on his heart. We have discussed it some at our youth leader meetings and so I had already been thinking about it a lot when this reading came up. I have started looking at some of the different fasts and the different length fasts and know I need to be doing one, I am just not sure what yet.
2. We are an impulsive society. We are in a society that wants everything yesterday. We have horrible self-control. Sacrifice is hard and we don’t like to be pushed, we like to live comfy, cozy lives. We always make excuses. I have considered fasting facebook for a time, but always make the excuse that I need it for my home based business and to keep up with people. The more I think about it, the more I know I need to do it. I honestly believe if I give it up I will be better connected and do better with my business because there will be that personal interaction again. Wow, I guess that is what I am giving up! I will create an account to just keep up with our youth group page (since I am an admin, and maybe my team business page that I am also an admin for).
3. I have not really had a concentrated fast. I did fast 24 hours from food while we were living at Fort Drum in response to the chief of chaplains calling for a day of fast to focus on the increasing number of Army suicides. It was totally hard for me, but I did it with a great friend and at lunch we spent time in the chapel instead of eating, and we both felt stronger as the day went on. Then we had an opportunity to break our fast together with a meal and got to really talk about that experience.