A Chat About Fasting
Joel 2: 12 “Even now,” says the Lord, “Turn and come to me with all your heart [in genuine repentance], with fasting and weeping and mourning [until every barrier is removed and the broken fellowship is restored];
I’ve struggled to properly engage this topic in the past so here is another stab at trying to help people REALLY understand fasting from a Christian point of view and not just what you might think.
So we’re taught that fasting is a food thing. You basically don’t eat for a period of time and then voila! Whatever was supposed to happen happens. But this is markedly different as a Christian.
Humans, according to the bible, exist in a tripartite nature. There’s your spirit, your soul (which houses your thoughts, will and emotions) and then your flesh. I’m sure if you’ve ever been to a church you hear the idea of the flesh being this evil thing that leads you to do bad things. And in a lot of ways this is true but this to me is far too simple of a way to approach this.
Let me take for example, lust. Regrettably, I’ve had my fair share with this one. Let’s say I see a beautiful person. I acknowledge, “Wow that’s a beautiful person”. Now let’s say after that statement, my imagination begins to paint pictures, I give into this progression and then if I’m with my friends I express things drawn up in my imagination (you should get my point here). This is the desire of your flesh manifested through your thoughts and emotions in a spectrum. Acknowledging the beauty of one of God’s creation is fine but for the average person, it rarely stops there. This may not seem like that big of a deal to people but it’s these “well I can’t help it I’m human”, unassuming, insidious things that can often lead us to making extremely poor and impulsive decisions that hurt people around us down the line.
So before going further, fasting isn’t just food. You can fast in various ways. Social media, candy, Korean dramas, Love is Blind, group chats, etc. However, the goal here isn’t just self-control. No matter what we tell ourselves, in our own strength, we will fail at self-control in one way or another whether you want to admit it to yourself or not. The goal is self-control THROUGH submission. It is to deprive the flesh to the point that we aren’t controlled by the things it desires leaving it to simply the bare necessities. But then to also submit to the directive of the Holy Spirit or as the opening verse suggests, a restoration of a fellowship.
I Corinthians 9: 27 But [like a boxer] I strictly discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached [the gospel] to others, I myself will not somehow be disqualified [as unfit for service].
So really, when you see a Christian fasting, it isn’t starving yourself of food. It’s an attempt to choose what will control our life. For Christians, it is the Holy Spirit. If I diminish flesh, then that leaves more room for the Holy Spirit to express himself in my life.
Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control. Against such things there is no law.
Speaking from experience, I noticed the more I fasted and prayed, that these fruits of the Spirit started to express themselves more. Dissipation of anger and an increasing desire to do things that serve others are just some things I noticed over this journey.
Oh, and also, I think I probably experienced some health benefits by cutting out some of the things I did cut out. I’m not telling you to go starve yourself in order to induce changes in your life. There’s a reason why people get hangry when they haven’t eaten. In this equation, the operative for change is the Holy Spirit and the fasting paired with prayer “simply” creates an environment where the Holy Spirit can demolish then rebuild! That’s all I’ll share on this for now! I hope that shed some light on how fasting works in the heart of a Christian.
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