Fasting is not always about food…

 

The Bible speaks about fasting as a way of self-denial to focus on the Lord, particularly in prayer. It is said to be humbling as well as an occasion of repentance and complete dedication. Like any other pious activity, it can be imitated in the flesh and used to draw attention to “how devoted I am” or how religious. This hypocrisy is rebuked a few times. The OT says:

‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’ Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers. Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high. Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the Lord? (Isaiah 58:3–5)

This passage goes on to say that a true fast is one in which the intent is to minister to needy people. It includes prayer for them, but also action whenever possible that takes care of needs.
The NT rebukes fasting also. Note that Jesus did not forbid it, but strikes out against the fleshy motivation that seeks honor for outward actions that appear to be pious…

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. (Matthew 6:16–18)

Jesus always looks at the heart. I’m planning dinner for a family this weekend and as I searched for recipes, found myself thinking, “This dessert is impressive” or “That salad looks heavenly” when I realized this dinner was not to impress them with my culinary skills; it is to feed them and be hospitable to them. This attitude does not fast from food on my part, but denies self-glory. It is obedience to Christ who calls me to love His people.

For me, the actual fast where food is not eaten is very difficult. Not long into it, I get such a severe headache that I cannot continue. Forgetting self in other ways is more achievable, but I still need to rely on the Holy Spirit. With God’s help, I can spend a day making food, etc. and praying for friends and others much more effectively than denying food for myself.
That said, Jesus denied food. His situation becomes an example for me, not about fasting as much as it challenges me to not rely on physical sustenance or my ‘I-wants’ as much as on His Word.

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” (Matthew 4:1–4)

His self-denial was Spirit-led, not motivated to impress others or seek any other personal gain. He became hungry after the fast lasted a long time, revealing the depth of His focus. The devil appealed to His humanity, the human need for food, but also challenged His identity and power as God the Son. Jesus responded by truth from Scripture and with that, the devil had to try a different tactic.

The hypocrites do not get a word (rhema) from God to fast and are not led into self-denial where they face temptation. Besides that, fasting just to impress others has already brought them into disobedience. And like the tempter, when that does not work, sinful people come up with other ways to impress people (like spectacular stunts or great financial gains).

Jesus’ answer to such nonsense is simple and profound: If you want life, real life, listen to God. Rhema means a word fit for the moment. It is about guidance for each situation. As the next two temptations and His responses reveal, seeking any sort of self-glory is not what God wants from His sons and daughters. I’m not to test His love with demands to prove Himself or any form of  ‘gimme the world’ prayers.

PRAY: Jesus, You make it clear that real life involves taking up my cross (death to self) whether it is in fasting or spending time and effort with others, or anything else You ask me to do. It also involves listening. You will give precise directions, sending me into the wilderness or elsewhere, and You will also give me answers when the temptations come, answers that make the devil give up and leave. Thank You.

 

Whose will is this?

 

Last night our small group started again. We read Scripture, discussed it, then shared prayer concerns. One of the folks expressed the mess in a social issue and that we needed to “do something” about it, yet others suggested that we first pray. After reading MacArthur’s devotional for today, I am convinced that the enemy can suggest action that sounds good but it is contrary to the will of God.

In this situation and in all circumstances, I’m to “take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one” (Ephesians 6:16) and first recognize those darts and where they come from using the temptation of Jesus as an example:

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” (Matthew 4:1–4)

Jesus was hungry and had the power to make bread from stones. It seemed a good idea for Him to “do something” but He recognized who was making the suggestion. He also recognized that the appeal was to His hunger, a personal need.

This clarifies what happened last night. That social issue was also a personal issue for the person who wanted to “do something” to fix it. Not that we should ignore social issues, but realize that God uses trials and problems for His purposes, sometimes to bring people to their knees before Him. Any action we might take could thwart the purposes of the Lord and that is the reason to first pray and find out if the motivations I’m experiencing are from God — or an appeal from Satan to get me side-tracked.

These “flaming missiles” refer to arrows with pitch-soaked tips set on fire. When they hit a target, flaming pitch spread to other flammable surfaces and destroyed all it touched. In spiritual warfare, Satan’s arrows are like that. They come in many forms. MacArthur lists: solicitations to impurity, selfishness, doubt, fear, disappointment, greed, vanity, covetousness, and so on. They can also be “do something” to fix problems without first asking God if that is what He wants. James 2-4 make it clear that He uses problems and our efforts to fix or escape them may not be the response He wants.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2–4)

I cannot know what God may be saying to others, but this principle has become important for me. When trials come, what is God doing? I want it to go away, but He has a plan that I will not experience if I try to escape instead of trusting Him to use them for my good. Faith is my protection because faith elevates God’s will above Satan’s plans. Like Jesus, God wants me to think: “I will not violate my Father’s will by yielding to this enemy’s schemes. In His time He will feed Me and give me what I need for victory. I will not give in, no matter how appealing his suggestions seem to be.”

Yielding to God can mean personal discomfort. For Jesus, it eventually led Him to the cross. However, during that time of testing when Jesus yielded to the will of God and Satan realized his tactics were not going to work, “Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.” (Matthew 4:11)

These thoughts also remind me of another incident in the gospels when Jesus warned that doing “good” does not necessarily mean I am doing the ‘good’ that God wants:

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (Matthew 7:21–23)

This does not mean that the people of God should avoid prophesy in His name, or doing any other mighty works, but unless my actions are from the Lord’s direction, I could be interfering with the will of God rather than doing it.

PRAY: Jesus, Your Word says I am to “Resist Satan, firm in my faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by my brotherhood throughout the world.” (1 Peter 5:9) This indicates that personal suffering can be God’s will, not the onslaught of evil that we often think it is. Keep me alert, always seeking Your will. And enable all Your people to realize the tactics of Satan.

PONDER: again the principles of battle Jesus experienced, and reread James 4:7.