February 16th, 2010 by Kristi Stephens

Ash Wednesday is tomorrow.

Last year in Lent, Fasting, and Other Outlandish Ideas, I shared my very sparse (if not nonexistent) background with Lent, and why I am starting to incorporate this into my own personal walk with the Lord.

Quoting from that post:

Fasting is a form of personal worship. It is not a dictated, regulated aspect within the New Covenant under Christ – it is a personal act of celebration within our walk with Him, an outgrowth of a desire to grow closer, commune deeper, to walk humbly with our God… [Richard] Foster also points out that it reveals the things which control us, as well. It is an act which God can use to purify us and reveal hidden sin in our lives.

Indeed, as I began to fast regularly for the first time in my life last year during the Lenten season, I did find that fasting made hidden sin glaringly obvious to me.  I shared more about my journey in Soul Hunger.

So, perhaps you are like me and fasting is a new and foreign concept.  I’d suggest you start by reading the first two posts which I already mentioned.  Now, let’s talk about particulars.

There are many different kinds of fasts.  You may have heard of people fasting from everything from media to carbohydrates to fasting from solid foods.  If you are wondering how you might incorporate fasting as a worshipful part of your preparations for the celebration of Christ’s resurrection, I’d suggest that you think about where you turn when you’re uncomfortable.

If you’re having a rough day – your kids are making you crazy, your work is causing immense amounts of frustration, a major appliance broke down unexpectedly, you’re dealing with conflict with your spouse, extended family, coworkers… what do you do?

I find myself doing these things, too – so let me suggest, ever so gently, that perhaps those things we turn to have become idols?

Rather than turning to the Lord at our weakest, most vulnerable moments, do we stuff down our emotions or conviction with food, entertainment, socialization, noise?  How often do we fail to hear Him, fail to receive all that He offers us, because we have settled for a cheap substitute – an idol?

As we approach Lent, perhaps we need to ask what idols have taken root in our lives.  Perhaps we should ask the Lord to help us use these 40 days of soul-preparation before Good Friday and Resurrection Day as a time to learn how to “find rest, O my soul, in God alone.”

Perhaps you need to fast from:

Food (total fasts for a day or two a week, or a fast from particular “comfort” foods you tend to turn to, etc.)
TV (all, or certain shows)
Your computer or social media (again, this might be a complete fast or limiting yourself to certain time blocks)
The phone, the radio…

Warning: DO NOT MAKE THIS LEGALISTIC.

You might feel led to give up TV or social media entirely – and your husband or friend may not.  That doesn’t mean they are less spiritual.

You seek the Lord.  You prayerfully search your heart.  And you ask the Lord: “how can I grow closer to You, commune deeper with You, walk humbly with You?”

Giving up chocolate for 40 days will do nothing for your spiritual walk unless this is a deliberate sacrifice – a choice to turn from something cheap and empty and seek to find fulfillment from God alone. To find your emotions and frustrations raw, with nothing to stuff them down with, and discover that God is present in our daily life and offers to us the strength to do what we cannot do on our own.

To learn more about fasting, and perhaps give you something to read as you prayerfully go through the Lenten season, you might want to download John Piper’s free ebook A Hunger for God here.

Do you have personal experience with fasting?  Have you found that it drives you to depend on God as it reveals what lesser things you use to comfort and satisfy your soul?

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