What Fasting Reveals: My Precious

" Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from what He suffered. ~Hebrews 5:8

When Hunger Reveals Our Hearts: A Lenten Reflection

I know we're supposed to fast in secret. Typically, I would, but I want to share my shortcomings so we might learn together. During my recent fast, everything was manageable until my evening plans unexpectedly changed. No Chipotle dinner, no peaceful walk with my wife, no relaxing movie night. The rug was pulled out from under me. What happened next frightened me. My frustration quickly turned to anger. My prayer “I hunger and thirst for you, O Lord” left my lips and was replaced by curses. My empty stomach had that much control over my emotions. It showed me how much I still must learn.

What Fasting Reveals

This is what fasting reveals: not our strength, but the appetites that still quietly rule our hearts.

It reminded me of Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings. He seemed perfectly fine until his precious ring was taken away. Then suddenly, a different person emerged, like Gollum who had allowed himself to be corrupted by the ring—hostile, desperate, unrecognizable. Did fasting do this to me or did my lack of discipline? Fasting removed my "ring" of comfort and revealed something disturbing underneath. Here is how you can take care in your own fasting journey that you don't turn into a Gollum like I did!

The Mirror of Fasting

Fasting isn't primarily about food. It's about the pursuit of total reliance on God in our journey toward holiness (1 Peter 1:16). As Jesus said, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4). When we fast, we create space to depend completely on God rather than earthly comforts. Jesus taught, "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matthew 26:41). My experience proved this true in a painfully literal way.

Thomas à Kempis wisely observes, "We have but little inborn light, and this we quickly lose through negligence. Often we are not aware that we are so blind in heart. Meanwhile we do wrong, and then do worse in excusing it." How right he is! My thin veneer of spirituality cracked, revealing what was underneath: not Christlike patience, but self-centered demands.

Finding Peace in Discomfort

James reminds us that "the testing of your faith produces perseverance" (1:3). This testing can feel like suffering. Again, Thomas à Kempis offers wisdom: "Now, all our peace in this miserable life is found in humbly enduring suffering rather than in being free from it. He who knows best how to suffer will enjoy the greater peace, because he is the conqueror of himself, the master of the world, a friend of Christ, and an heir of heaven." Peace doesn't come from avoiding discomfort but from learning to remain steadfast through it. Jesus himself "learned obedience from what he suffered" (Hebrews 5:8). If even Christ needed to learn through suffering, how much more do we?

Your Goal for the Final Week of Lent

As we approach Holy Week, I invite you to practice intentional discomfort. Choose one small comfort to surrender each day. It might be coffee, social media, or hot showers. When the discomfort triggers frustration, don't push it away. Instead, let it become your teacher. Ask yourself: "What is this feeling revealing about what truly controls my heart?" Then bring that revelation to God in honest prayer, saying with the Psalmist, "Search me, God, and know my heart... See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (Psalm 139:23-24).

The path to Easter Resurrection always leads through the Cross. May we embrace our small sufferings as opportunities to know ourselves more truly and to depend on God more deeply.

Always improve the present moment.