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Refreshed Through Fasting

All of my life I’ve struggled with food. Eating was a source of pleasure to celebrate, a source of comfort when sad or frustrated, or a source of entertainment when bored. For years and years I prayed to be set free from this burdened way of walking, I repented for the sin of gluttony time and time again. So many attempts I made in my own strength only to fail. I sought diets, deliverance, and counseling. Each time my freedom seemed to slip further and further away and depression and a feeling of overwhelming and futility covered my soul.

The lie the enemy whispers in the darkness is that food is a huge giant that you will never be free from. But the truth of God’s word is that I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. I had always wanted to be a faster, but after a few hours I would fail miserably and condemn myself (the Lord never condemned). One day, after many attempts, I woke up and felt a prompting to fast that day, and it took. The next day I reverted to my old habits of unhealthy eating but not as severe. I fasted the next day, and then found a freedom that was effortless. This higher way of walking with the Lord came through an unexpected source – fasting.

Food no longer felt like a stronghold over my life that I turned to for comfort. It was a thin veil that was literally eating me alive, but the Lord removed it at such a time as this. I can’t explain why now, or what is different, but I know I’m different. This was my journey, and there are no formulas or rules for freedom from a sin that so easily besets, for we are all fearfully and wonderfully made.

Some have no issues with food, yet for others it is a source of great anxiety. Do not be condemned, beloved, if food is a struggle. Are you a worshiper, are you one that feels Him during times of prayer and meditation? I’ve discovered many who are sensitive to the Holy Spirit tend to struggle with this element of food. That’s not a law, just an observation of the many stories of fellow believers. How could doing nothing with food for a period of time, deliver me from food? Jesus spoke of prayer and fasting to His disciples and in our busy day it has become a somewhat forgotten source of relief and supplication.

Wherever you are in your path of walking with the Lord, ask His preference for you on this matter. Some go through a season of fasting, some do it as a lifestyle, and everyone is different. It is that secret, intimate place and agreement between you and the Lord. The Lord will guide you as what a fast unto Him would be for you, that is beauty of it. It is not legalistic, it is not burdensome, it is a delight and crushes the draws of the flesh like nothing else.

Matthew 6:16-18

“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. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 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.”