I was really excited that this year started off with this challenge and sermon series. Why? Because I had already shared here that I am believing and trying to make it my goal to publish another book this year. The topic of which is.....spiritual fitness. It felt like a huge confirmation from the Lord that He would help me bring some things into completion this year.
So why commit to a fast as part of this attention to fitness? Because fasting acutely makes us aware of how much our flesh controls our behaviors and longings. Not just for food, but lots of things. It's not to impress God or prove something. It's to make our flesh submit to our Spirit and turn our attentions toward prayer and intimacy with God. Hopefully we turn our hunger towards things of the Spirit rather than things of the world. Not as easy as it sounds. Try to go without something that you enjoy, and immediately your flesh will make you want it that much more. So annoying. Many folks in our church are doing a "Daniel Fast". This involves only eating fruits and vegetables and avoiding all meats, bread, or alcohol. It comes from scripture in Daniel, chapter 10, where Daniel followed a similar diet for a period of prayer. Our pastor challenged us further by suggested we look to another example in the bible, Samson. He was raised as a Nazarite and was given three things he should never do. Delving into the significance of those things gave us some spiritual meat to chew on and come up with what we would forgo for the next 21 days.
Our family has chosen the following things:
1. For the next three weeks, we will not go out to eat at all. That means all of our meals will be prepared at home. This might seem trivial. But eating out we decided is unnecessary, costly, and often makes us waste food that we have already at home. With our busy lifestyles, schedule and jobs, it actually is hard and is taking a lot of preparation. The fact is, we often choose to eat out for convenience, and is something we should learn to do less. Of course this is helping us make healthier choices overall.
2. Greg and I are not eating any bread/bread products (this includes crackers,etc), no sweets, and no alcohol.
3. Individually we have each chosen something else to fast from. Mine is not looking at any online shopping sites. I'm training my eyes to follow the motto "Don't sacrifice what you want most for what you want now."
During this 21 days we are also following a reading plan that will help us read all of the letters the Apostle Paul wrote in the Bible. As our Pastor said, "Paul was probably the best personal trainer in the Bible." I'll probably update again once we complete the fast. Obviously I feel like the Lord is stressing the concept of "training" in my life. I'm believing our obedience to it will produce great rewards.
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