Day 2

Thursday, March 6th

Fasting

“We fast because we’re hungry for God’s Word and God’s Spirit in our lives… Ultimately we fast simply because we want God more than we want anything this world has to offer us.” 

-John Piper

So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.

(Colossians 3:1-2 MSG)

Many people choose to fast during the 40 days of Lent. Fasting simply means denying yourself something that takes up space in your life, so that you can make room for more of God. When we deprive our physical selves of things we usually indulge in, we are forcing our appetites into the background, so that our spiritual selves, quieter and often neglected, can have our full attention. 

Traditionally, fasting involves denying yourself food and drinking only water for a period of time. Recently however, people have expanded the meaning of fasting to include many other things. Some people choose to give up food entirely, or to eat nothing but fruits and vegetables, while others choose to forgo certain foods like treats or snacks, or give up habits like coffee and tea. 

Other people go a different route and choose to give up things like Netflix, movies, or time-robbing activities like social media or computer games. 

Whatever you decide on, remember there is no right or wrong way to fast. If you fail for a day, get back at it the next. God accepts us as we are and delights in our attempts to draw closer to Him, however feeble we might think those attempts are. 

Today, spend time thinking and praying about what you want to give up for the next 40 days, test it in the flowchart below and then write it in the blank:

I have decided to fast from ________________ for this Lent season.