In ten hours, my seven day fast will be complete. I will wake up tomorrow and enjoy a small steaming mug of soy chai tea, cantaloupe and raisins. This has been one of the most difficult and most rewarding weeks of my life. All I can say is that God is good!
During the first two days of fasting, I knew I was doing something wrong. I think I was in grin-and-bear-it mode. By the third day I was so hungry, and the only thing that I could do was pray. I started talking to God, and His overwhelming love and power filled my spirit. Jesus says, ” You’re blessed when you’re ravenously hungry. Then you’re ready for the Messianic meal” (Luke 6.18 The Message). I definitely was ready to feast from the Lord!
After God spoke to me powerfully, I remembered Jesus saying to the disciples after He had shown mercy to the woman at the well, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about” (John 4.32b NIV). I had to ask myself, “What do I crave more? My food or my God?”
I read in my one year Bible, The Message/Remix Pause Bible, a few days into my fast the following verses from Amos Chapter 4:
6″You know, don’t you, that I’m the One
who emptied your pantries and cleaned out your cupboards,
Who left you hungry and standing in bread lines?
But you never got hungry for me. You continued to ignore me.”
God’s Decree.
7-8″Yes, and I’m the One who stopped the rains
three months short of harvest.
I’d make it rain on one village
but not on another.
I’d make it rain on one field
but not on another—and that one would dry up.
People would stagger from village to village
crazed for water and never quenching their thirst.
But you never got thirsty for me.
You ignored me.”
God’s Decree.
I want to hunger and thirst for God more than anything else. Only then will I live the abundant life that He has planned for me. During my fast, God showed me many things. I allowed Him to expose those sins that were hidden away and forgotten about. They were deep within my heart, awaiting a time to destroy my God-given purpose. They needed to be weeded out, so that I could draw closer to Him.
The biggest sin was my disbelief. I realized that I believed in God only about 90%. I still clung to my 10% of disbelief just in case God was unable to prove Himself to me. God has given me many promises, and I was holding out my total commitment until those promises came true. I wanted my wedding feast before I took the effort to walk by faith to the wedding hall. I didn’t want to be a fool, but I know now that I was the fool for not comprehending the power and might of our God.
My fast also enlarged my capacity to handle the burden that comes with blessings. You can’t have one without the other. Jesus says, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked” (Luke 12.48b). Therefore, if I want an abundant life with Jesus and have blessings poured into my life, I need the capacity to handle the responsibilities that go hand in hand.
A Christian who is being blessed is a Christian who is sacrificing for the kingdom of God. Salvation comes by faith, but blessings come by obedience. And God wants us to be 100% obedient to His will, so that He can pour out His blessings. What I’ve discovered is that our little acts of obedience are nothing compared to the blessings waiting for us, but we must make sure that our motive is right. We are obedient because we love God, and He blesses us because He loves us. This is a beautiful picture of serving, not bartering.
I felt like the woman in 2 Kings 4.1-7. This woman poured out from her emptiness, and God’s supernatural power continued to flow. By day four I felt physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually depleted, but God filled me with His strength, joy, love, mercy and everything else I needed. God always provided when I looked to Him for help. I was completely dependent on God to help me finish my fast, and He showed Himself as my Great Sustainer.
“Father, thank You for helping me through this fast. Bless my life and make me strong so I can handle the weight of those blessings. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Fast to Feast- Day 1
Fast to Feast- Day 2
Fast to Feast- Day 3
Fast to Feast- Day 4
Fast to Feast- Day 5
Fast to Feast- Day 6
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