The Secret to Fasting

Yesterday I fasted for the entire day for the first time in years. I did not like the thought of fasting going into it, but now being on the other side of it I was happy I did it.

Fasting has always been part of the Christian life, but unfortunately not always a part of mine. It has incredible spiritual benefits as Yu deny yourself the food that normally sustains you and you look for other things to sustain you,

Beyond that, fasting has great health benefits that include cleansing the body (which can also been seen as a spiritual benefit) and there is even some research linking fasting to lowering the possibility of developing cancer. I won’t go through the findings here because its not my point. I just want to talk about how to do it easily.

The most difficult part about fasting isn’t not eating. The most difficult part is the constant thinking of food because you’re aware of not eating. In the past, that has always been my downfall with fasting. I would decide to fast, lock myself in my house and my room to avoid temptation, be extremely bored, thinking about how hungry I am, and then I would eventually cave into my desires.

Yesterday for the very first time I felt something different. It had everything to do with how I organized my day.

The secret?

I kept myself busy.

I worked in the office all day and didn’t stop moving. I stopped to pray at moments in order to align my heart to why I was fasting. When I came home, I drove my mother back to her house and had great conversation. When I got back to my house my wife and I went for a drive with our baby. We spent some time together as a family when we got home and then we called it night early. I was in bed by 8 PM and asleep by 9:15 PM.

Right now, I’m awake and I haven’t eaten yet. But I feel refreshed and renewed by fasting. I’m glad I did it as I feel like I gained clarity on a lot of things through my fasting.

I encourage you to give it a try. I know it can and will be difficult, but the spiritual benefits and health benefits are worth it. This morning my heart feels aligned with God’s and I LOVE that. This will be part of my weekly Thursday routine for the next few weeks. I am hoping each day is just like yesterday.