True Spiritual Fasting: "Fasting for Feeding": Lent Week 5

"Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” ~Matthew 4:4

The Key to True Spiritual Fasting

You can’t have water without two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen. You can’t bake a cake without flour. You can’t drive a car without wheels. As we near the end of Lent, this question came to me: Can you fast without being fed?

It’s an oxymoronic question. Fasting and feeding are opposites! Of course, you can’t eat and fast (from food) simultaneously! Now, wait a minute. Didn’t Jesus say, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”? (Matthew 19:26). When I think of fasting, I think of not eating. We call it breakfast because we are literally ‘breaking our fast.’ Earlier, when I posed the question, “Can you fast without being fed?” do you think of being fed as eating food?

The first answer Jesus gave to Satan in the desert to dispel the temptation of physical hunger was, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). The key to true spiritual fasting is so obvious that Jesus tells us immediately. Typically, our first reaction when doing something is to see if we can do it on our own without any help. This behavior does not work for fasting—in fact, it is counterproductive. We will produce the opposite desired effect. Fasting without being fed on God’s Word will drive us into selfishness because, like Satan, we will find the logic in choosing our “needs” instead of hungering for God’s desires.

Sometimes, hearing a Word from God on our Lenten journey can take a while. But when you Feed yourself on true nourishment, what Word He gives you will be made clear.

Always improve the present moment.