Taste and See
My friend (who permitted me to share this story) completed a twenty-one-day fast from solid food, surviving only on water. Five days into the fast, my friend was lying on a hospital bed with “belly fire,” which turned out to be appendicitis. My first reaction was how foolish to subject yourself to the possibility of starvation.
My second reaction was anger. For selfish reasons, I was fearful I might never see this precious soul alive again.
While most people would have quit at the ER, this warrior endured to the bitter end and added five days because drinking the contrast dye required to diagnose the condition technically broke the “water only” fasting rule. Wow!
I saw my friend on day twenty-five, and again I felt fear. I was no longer afraid of what I may never see. Now I feared what I would see.
I expected a bony skeleton gripping the guardrail, gasping for breath up my stairs. Instead, I welcomed an energized, vibrant person who could have scaled the stairs two at a time.
From a passionate and articulate testimony of drawing nearer to God through one profound revelation after the next, I learned that daily two-hour sauna-infused rigorous workouts accompanied the twenty-five-day food-free rhythm. Double Wow! Beyond impressed. Now I’m jealous.
All this reminded me of Jesus teaching his followers not to draw attention to themselves while fasting, insisting they keep a Godward focus. My friend’s undefeatable perseverance inspires this writing.
“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Matthew 6:16–18)
Spiritual Disciplines
I aspire to devote my life to obedience and practice spiritual disciplines such as Bible reading, scripture memorization, prayer, fellowship in community, accountability, and serving. I serve in a ministry I co-founded with my husband to help families build God-centered relationships.
I fasted as a requirement for a seminary class, but it was not a regular practice. Yet, it’s one of the most important spiritual disciplines of the Christian life, which only begs the question, why don’t I practice it? Here’s what I learned.
Fasting is a voluntary and temporary relinquishment of something good, like food, that Christians do to deepen our need for something better, namely God, for a specific time (whether a day or three or seven or twenty-one). The aim is to rely less on God’s creation and more on the Creator.
“Disciplines are practices, not character qualities, graces, or ‘fruit of the Spirit.’ Disciplines are things you do. The goal of practicing a given discipline is not about doing but about being—being like Jesus. The biblical way to grow in being more like Jesus is through the rightly motivated doing of the biblical spiritual disciplines—discipline yourself for Godliness.” —Dr. Don Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life.
Our hearts have a thirst and father hunger only God can quench. Fasting expresses our dependence on God’s grace and comfort in our trouble. We pray for our daily bread because we need food and strength, but at other times we fast to seek guidance or protection, express grief or repentance, overcome temptation, battle unbelief, or show our love for God.
It’s hard to deny God’s grace in ordaining fasting for the welfare of his people.
Moses is with God on Mount Sinai, writing the Ten Commandments, and fasts forty days (Exodus 34:28).
The great prophet Elijah flees from Jezebel and fasts for forty days (1 Kings 19:8).
The Jews fasted for Esther as she risked her life before King Ahasuerus (Esther 4:16).
Nehemiah fasted for his people to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1:4).
Paul responds to his conversion on the Damascus Road by not eating for three days (Acts 9:9).
The church leaders fasted as they prepared Paul and Barnabas to advance the gospel in the Western Roman Empire (Acts 13:1–3).
The world’s salvation depended on the obedience and righteousness of Jesus as he entered the wilderness after his baptism to face satanic temptation. Jesus triumphed through forty days of fasting, changing the course of history (Matthew 4 / Luke 4).
Spiritual Disciplines
We are an over-indulged, well-fed world. Surrender reveals what controls us. People who recognize their brokenness and desire righteousness sacrifice their comfort and pleasure for God’s perfection.
Not everyone can eliminate food from their diet for health reasons, so check with your doctor first. People who need regular meals can observe a partial fast by eating a portion-controlled, balanced meal or just one basic food, like bread or rice, for required nutrition.
The goal is to get the minimal nutritional intake necessary to prevent physical complications while, if possible, still experiencing at least some hunger or desire for something else. The fasting’s spiritual purpose is that the person experiences a desire for more of something.
“Fasting, if we conceive of it truly, must not be about food and drink; fasting should include abstinence from anything legitimate for the sake of some special spiritual purpose.” —Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount.
If fasting from food is not an option, consider abstaining from something you enjoy, like social media, that would bring you closer to Jesus. I thank my dear friend for showing me how to deepen my love for Jesus through fasting. Your intense dedication and unshakable commitment to God fill me with awe and wonder. I am changed.
I want Jesus. I need Jesus. All I want and need I have in Jesus.
I invite you to let God prove your heart with fasting so you can taste and see that he is all you want and need.
