Fasting (Part 1) – A Personal Call to Fast

A special blog will be going out to subscribers this week.  For now, here is my first of three posts on fasting......

“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:16-18)

During the month of July, I felt God calling me to fast.  The Bible is clear that we are to fast. Now, when you hear of someone fasting, you typically think of food.  Well, for me, I felt God calling me to fast Television.  It seemed a little unusual, but I wanted to be obedient and I thought it couldn’t hurt.  I learned several things during my fast that I will share in the next three posts.

Here are the things I learned in the beginning of my fast: (in no particular order)

-When my mind goes to the things of the world, I would usually turn on the TV to get my mind off of it.  The problem is I was trying to fix worldly problems with more worldly perspectives from what was on TV. When I am struggling with things of this world, I need to get still and listen to God (not the TV).

-For me, the TV is one of the biggest instruments I use to bring the views of the world into my house, which is totally opposite of what I want my life to be based on. My focus should be on God, not the things of the world.

-The TV drowns out God’s voice.  I have realized that a lot of times I would turn on the TV just to have background noise.  I don’t like a quite house, but what I realized is that in a quiet house I am able to hear God’s voice more.

-I have wasted a lot of time watching TV instead of doing what God wanted me to do.  A lot of times I would catch myself asking what I should do now since I can’t watch TV?  At the beginning of the fast, instead of watching TV, I studied God’s word, read Christian books, prayed, or journaled.  I also spent time reconnecting and building relationships on FB or going out with friends and sharing life together.  These are all things that I think lead me in the direction of God’s will in my life, whereas the TV kept my focus on the world and did nothing to help me advance the kingdom or my personal relationship with God.

Is there something in your life that, if you gave up, would give you more time to spend with God? The harder question is would you be willing to give something up in order to spend more time with God?