Dear Pastor Scott:
Do you think Christians that don't fast sometimes are missing out on something? I know those that fast regularly, or several times per year, say that it really is a time of importance to them, and they feel it is commanded in the Bible. I have never had much success fasting; I am distracted, headachy, and grumpy!
Curious
Dear Curious,
Fasting is a challenging topic to address. It’s clear from the Biblical record that God’s people fasted – Then all the children of Israel, that is, all the people, went up and came to the house of God and wept. They sat there before the LORD and fasted that day until evening; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD (Judges 20:26). It is also clear that Jesus expected his followers to fast – Then the disciples of John came to Him, asking, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?" And Jesus said to them, "The attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast” (Matthew 9:14-15). But the Bible is not specifically clear about how or why we should fast. In fact, what we do know from the biblical record is that God’s people seemed to fast for everything:
- Elijah fasted for Ahab’s repentance – 1 Kings 21:27
- The people fasted as they mourned Saul’s death – 1 Chron. 10:12
- Ezra called a fast to demonstrate the people’s humility as they petitioned God– Ezra 8:21-23
- Esther encouraged a fast to ask for God’s intervention – Esther 4:16
- The disciples fasted as they sought the Lord’s guidance – Acts 13:2-3; 14:23
The record from Scripture seems to be saying, “just do it.” There doesn’t really seem to be an occasion (other than a wedding feast) wherein fasting is inappropriate. That’s not to say that all fasts are holy and sanctioned. In Isaiah (58:3ff) we see a condemnation of leaders who had declared a fast while simultaneously mistreating their poor. Clearly if we are fasting to increase (or prove) our holiness while holding onto or engaging in sinful practices, God will not honor our fast. But assuming a contrite heart and honest motives, what else do we know about fasting?
Fasting as a Discipline
In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Paul uses a familiar athletic metaphor to describe how he trains and disciplines his body so that he will not be disqualified. Fasting has long been considered one of the primary spiritual disciplines. Fasting doesn’t save us or even make us more holy. Fasting affords us an opportunity to train our will. By saying “no” to something as needful and, frankly, as comforting as food, we learn that we can say “no” to other desires that would truly compromise our walk with God and our testimony.
By making a fast a prolonged ordeal, we learn the perseverance that is so critical both in our service to the Lord and in our avoidance of persistent temptation. Right before Paul utters the familiar line, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” He says, “I have learned contentment.” Fasting helps us to answer this question: “Have we truly learned how to rely on God?”
Fasting as a Antiseptic
There are four words in the famous “run the race” verses of Hebrews 12 that have grabbed my attention and will not let me go. The author says that we should “lay aside every weight” and the sin which encumbers us. That little word “and” (kai) tells me that not every encumbrance I carry is inherently sinful. Sometimes the “encumbering weights” that we carry are actually good things, but they just aren’t the right kind things to be carrying in a race (2 Tim 2:4). In 1 Corinthians 6:12 we are told that some lawful things still can have mastery over us, and Paul says that’s a bad idea.
W. R. Inge writes:
If we feel that any habit or pursuit, harmless in itself, is keeping us from God and sinking us deeper in the things of earth; if we find that things which others do with impunity are for us the occasion of falling, then abstinence is our only course. Abstinence alone can recover for us the real value of what should have been for our help but which has been an occasion for falling . . . . It is necessary that we should steadily resolve to give up anything that comes between us and God.
Clearly Dr. Inge is speaking of more than just a “food” fast. Fasting from food is the scriptural model and I believe God can use it to point other areas of mastery, but anytime anything is between us and God we ought to practice abstention at least for a time. I have shared this before, but I was hooked on soda – Pepsi in particular – for a long time. I had tried to slack my thirst with diet drinks many times, and every time I spit it out like it was arsenic. About 9 years ago I did a 10-day soda fast. At the conclusion of the fast I was encouraged to try a diet soda. I loved it! Going without the sugar drink for 10 days, allowed me to replace it with something that was more beneficial for me. Now I don’t share that to get us into an argument about NutraSweettm, but I share that to illustrate that fasting is a great way to replace an “encumbering weight” with a beneficial one.
Fasting as a hors d'oeuvre
One of my favorite choruses is taken from Psalm 42; “as the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs after you.” Peter picks up the thought in his first epistle when he says we ought to desire the word the same way a newborn desires milk. Am I really that hungry for the word? Are you? Fasting is a way to increase our hunger – not just for food – but for God’s word. After all, man does not live by bread alone! I am intrigued by Daniel’s fast from “tasty food and ointments” (i.e. from anything that has flavor and from taking a shower and using deodorant). There is a dramatic moment when, after fasting for 3 weeks, he saw the Lord! I don’t expect an angel to appear, but I know that when I am without self-satisfaction for a length of time, I am hungrier!
Fasting as a Practice
I know that a part of your question had to do with actually getting through the fast. I know first hand about the lightheadedness and the headaches, but I can testify that they will pass and may well be a test, for some of us, of our commitment to the fast itself. But for lots more good information on wise things to consider about how to prepare for and survive a fast one could visit Bill Bright’s fasting Website at: http://www.billbright.com/howtofast/
I trust all of that was both helpful and challenging. Your question was both for me.
Under the Abiding Shadow of God’s Grace,
Pastor Scott Sundin