Last month, I tried an ancient spiritual discipline on for size — fasting. It was nothing major — once a week for a maximum time of 24 hours.  I’m no expert, and in truth, I’ve never really understood what the benefit was supposed to be.

God is sovereign, after all, so how could driving by the drive-thru without getting supersized fries cause him change his mind? “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind” (Numbers 23:19).

Maybe it’s not about changing his mind as much as it is knowing his mind. But, see, I’m not really much of a charismatic Christian either.  I’ve been led astray one too many times by “gut feelings” that I mistakenly attributed to God’s leading.  And it seems like every cult on earth today started with some guy hearing voices and assuming it was a new revelation from God.  So I didn’t go into the experience expecting to hear anything from God that I could not read for myself in the Bible.

Still, I wanted direction from God, and even though I assumed he didn’t lead that way, I wanted to give it a try. The idea came from a good friend of mine who shared that he was regularly fasting about a situation in his family.  In the providence of God, I also stumbled upon several books and Websites about the topic (five of them, to be exact).

So I dove in, and here’s what I learned:

• It’s amazing how much time we spend on food — buying food, planning how we’ll cook food, shelling out money for food, passing the time munching on food, etc.  You don’t realize this until you stop.  The time you get back is amazing, and if you devote it to God, that alone is worth the experience of fasting.
• Most of us eat more for entertainment than nutrition. We eat to socialize.  We eat to calm our worries.  We eat to ward off boredom.  I’m even eating cereal right now for that very purpose.  It’s not that I’m hungry.  It just feels weird whenever my mouth is not chewing on something sugary… even at midnight.  How much money could we save by stopping eating for non-nutritional purposes?  How much healthier would we be?  Imagine the resources that would free up in our budgets and calendars so that we could do those things we’ve always wanted to do… like help feed those around the world who can’t even eat for nutritional purposes, much less entertainment.
• I learned that it’s OK to tell your body, “No!” Fasting is a discipline that helps put your mind and spirit in control.  In a strange way, it was gratifying to feel hunger pangs and interpret them as something normal and expected — even, dare I say, good — instead of a god that must be obeyed.
• Fasting in a safe way is healthy for your body. According to much of the literature out there, it’s a good way to detox and help your bodily systems regulate themselves.
• The experience was not a magical window into the mind of God for me. My questions were not clearly or fully answered.  Neither was I able to alter the plans of God to fit my desires.  But it did increase my faith, and my spiritual life definitely benefited from the exercise.  Although God did not give me revelation, he did give me illumination as he deepened my understanding of the Scriptures I read.
• The concept of fasting can be applied to more than just food. For example, I also chose to refrain from using Twitter and Facebook on Sundays.  This refreshing Sabbath from social media was a type of fasting that enabled me to keep them from becoming idols in my life.
• Finally, I learned that being secretive about fasting is as dangerous as being boastful about it. In desiring to be discreet, I declined going to lunch with friends and coworkers without giving a reason.  By the end of the month, I had some explaining to do because they thought I hated them!  A non-prideful explanation that you are fasting is a perfectly legitimate response to those who ask.

So, where do we go from here? I’m not exactly looking to do a 40-day fast, but I would like to expand to try 48-hour fasts and possibly 72-hour fasts in the future.  It’s undeniable that fasting is prominently featured in the teachings of the New Testament, so it’s a shame many Christians today don’t even give it a try.  I’m still learning, but I am trying.  Hopefully, my comments will be helpful to someone out there in a similar situation.  If you have any comments about your experiences in fasting, I’d love to hear them!

[ht: photo by Christian Cable]

Posted in: Cool Stuff, Random Rants