Have you ever had that one meal that when you finished you sat back and said, “Wow, my appetite is satisfied once and for all!”? Of course not, our appetite is something that cannot be permanently satisfied. In fact, feeding your appetite actually increases, not decreases, your appetite!
Fasting isn’t an inherently spiritual activity – meaning that there are a variety of purposes to fasting. Fasting is normal before getting blood work done for your annual (or less frequent if you are male) physical. It is normal before a surgical procedure. Fasting is a part of some health regiments to remove toxins from your system. What turns fasting into a spiritual activity is the purpose. I’ve known people that have joined a fast that a church was promoting because, “I need to lose some weight anyway.” That is the wrong motive.
Fasting is about ‘starving’ a normal appetite to ensure that it serves you instead of you serving it. You should eat to live, you should not be living to eat. Fasting is to remind you that your ultimate dependence isn’t on food it is on God!
If you’ve never fasted before, I want to encourage you to pick one meal a day for a few days and instead of eating, read your Bible and spend some time with God.
