This is the second day of my 21-day complete fast. I do it yearly, on top of my weekly fast, as a vital part of my spiritual lifestyle. My desire is to know God deeper and deeper. I want to know the surpassing knowledge of His love. I must have GREATER revelation of His love and goodness every year. It has to increase as I hunger and thirst after Him.
I fast not to pay a price for anything. I fast because the price is already paid by Jesus more than 2000 years ago. I fast to SEEK Him and KNOW Him MORE!
Hebrews 11:6 - ...for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently.
I seek Him to be rewarded with HIM, not other things.
For more on fasting, I have written the purpose of an extended fast two years ago.
Why Bother To Do An Extended Fast
(Written on 1st May 2014)
This is the first time I'm writing about this but it is so rewarding that I feel that I should share.
Fasting has been a lifestyle for me since the day I started full-time ministry in Church in Oct 2009. I realised that there are so many things I cannot do by myself without relying on God.
I must admit that I first started fasting with the following wrong motives:
1) God will answer my prayers faster
2) God will grant me greater breakthroughs in my life
3) God will speak to me clearer
4) God will grant me supernatural increase
5) God will change me and mature me as a Christian
The more I fast and pray, the more I realise that those are sacred cows (religion & traditions) to be killed. As far as I am concerned, they are not mentioned in Scriptures.
Fasting is not bending God's hand to do our will. It is bending ours to do His.
Fasting doesn't bring an increase in power or answered prayers. It brings us to a place of hunger and continual dependence upon Him such that we become conscious of His presence and power which we already have in Christ that we can walk in.
If our motives for fasting are what I mentioned in the list above, I can safely destroy those sacred cows by saying this, 'We DON'T NEED to fast in order to have those stuff. We already have them IN Christ.' If that is the case, then why do we bother to fast?
We live in a world where there are so much distractions and demands. Everything is seeking for our attention. Everyone is demanding something from us. For Christians who don't work in Church - don't ever think that working in Church means that we are constantly in a spiritual environment where we can easily seek God. Statistics have shown that many who work in Church neglect their personal and spiritual lives, and experience burn-out. Church ministry involves people and where people are, demands are placed. For Christians who work in Church - don't ever think that working in the marketplace is easy. There are many temptations marketplace workers are facing that we may not face. Each environment has it's own set of challenges.
But it's precisely because of the challenges, distractions and demands, whether in Church or marketplace environment, that fasting becomes a vital spiritual lifestyle that we need to develop. I don't like to use the word "spiritual disciplines". Alot of people measure the spiritual maturity of a person by the spiritual disciplines they do. Nothing is further from the truth. If you want to argue about that point, just ask your wife (or at least mine). Period.
Purpose of Fasting
To nail it to its simplicity, fasting is simply to come to the place of dependence upon Him. It's not getting into a place of religion. It's not getting to a place of self-pity or self-affliction. It's not coming to a place of change. You can't be changed by fasting. It's not a method of change. You can only be changed by the One who has the power to change you. There is only One Way. His name is Jesus. You can only be changed by Jesus Himself.
In the physical, we depend on food to be filled. If we don't eat, we get hungry. Some people think that it's easy for me to go without food for an extended period of time. Just ask my wife. Nobody likes to go without food. Read my emotions: I honestly hate fasting.
In the spiritual, we depend on Him to be filled. The more we feast on Him, the more we create the capacity in us to feast on Him. I fast to stay hungry for Jesus. I fast to depend on Him more. Yes, you can depend on Him so much that you don't have to fast. But I find it difficult to depend on Him in every aspect of my life, especially in this current world that we are living in. There are so many other resources we can turn to when we need help. It's easy to use my own wisdom and understanding to handle issues and challenges. Unless you stay in cave or assign yourself to become a Christian monk, it is difficult, but I'm not saying that it is impossible. Apostle Paul fasted regularly; the disciples of Jesus fasted regularly. Yes, Jesus Himself fasted. The only model we should rightly follow is Jesus. If He fasted, then we should too. It is meant to be a spiritual lifestyle.
I fast to stay conscious of His presence and power. During the period when I'm fasting, a simple gaze upon Him allows me to experience such tangible flow of His love, affection and joy for me. It's not that He is releasing more. He has already given to me in Christ. It's just an increased in awareness on my part. Fasting heightens that consciousness.
Benefits of Fasting
There are so many benefits that what I am going to share is definitely not exhaustive.
There are many things I consult Him while fasting. He will speak to me clearly (because my awareness increases) and He will share His heart beyond the things I consult Him for. He knows better, since He is my Creator.
He never fails to bring me to the place where I stay conscious of His love for me. In my recent fast, He brought me to the journey of my salvation and I couldn't help but immensed myself in His love, which caused me to break down in tears. I am very grateful to Him.
On two occasions, He brought me to heaven for a visitation. Some would say it's a vision, while some say it's a visitation. I'm not bothered by it. The end goal is always His presence and love. The means is not important. On one of the two occasions, I sat beside the throne of the Father - yes, at the right side. I thought, "Father, how is it possible that I could sit beside You? Isn't Jesus supposed to be sitting here?" He replied me, while laughing, "You are seated with Christ in the heavenly places." All of a sudden, the Scriptures became a reality to me. If it is the Truth, it is also the Reality. We are seated with Christ at the right hand of the Father. He then passed me an arrow. I asked Him, 'What's that, Father?" He said, "That's what you are supposed to do when arrows come at you." "What does it mean?" The Father replied, "The arrows are the attacks of the devil. You can simply catch them with your hands." "But Father, how do I do that?" He said, "Faith. Simply by faith."
I realised that Ephesians 6 talks about using faith to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil ones. It seems so easy. Simply by faith. Faith is the power of Christianity. The enemy cannot touch me when I simply have faith. Some people teach that the enemy can strike you if you sin or if you don't measure up to the Christian standard of living. Well, faith is not about performance or effort. Faith is simply believing. Even when your life doesn't match up, fret not, the enemy STILL cannot touch you if you simply hold on to the shield of faith.
There are many things I have written down in my journal during this recent fast. All I can say is this - It is so rewarding that I am very grateful.
As fasting increases my consciousness of His presence, it allows me to commune with Him intentionally before I make any decision, big or small. Even when I read the Scriptures, many fresh insights will be given to me, not because of the act of fasting, but because I devour on His Word to feed my spirit being during a fast.
Apart from spiritual benefits, there are many physical benefits. Again, this list below is not exhaustive.
1) Weight Loss
Fasting is not dieting. However, it can become pure dieting if we don't couple with continual prayer and communion with the Father. Weight loss is a physical result of fasting.
According to the feedback from others, I'm slim. Yet in recent fast, I lost more than 6kg. Each time after I fasted, I lost muscles which cannot be gained back simply by eating. Some people can lose up to 15-20 kg within the same period of fast. It depends on your present weight and size, as well as body metabolism rate. What does it mean? This is good news for ladies. You don't need to consume any slimming pills or try hard to lose weight. An extended fast will do that for you. However, this is bad news for guys who frequently visit the gym. I used to focus alot on physical muscles until I was down with a sickness and lost almost all the muscles I had built up over the years. The bad news is this... you will lose your muscles in an extended period of fast. However, losing some physical muscles is nothing compared to gaining spiritual muscles.
2) Natural De-tox
Healthcare products/supplements can be purchased on the shelves to help provide detoxification to your human body. You can even sign up for detoxification programme. Some products/supplements actually deal an amount of damage to your kidneys and liver, because they have to work harder to break down the chemicals found in the products. My suggestion is this - save your money and do the natural. Fasting is a free dotoxification programme that produces the best results. When you fast for at least three days, your body will naturally detox and re-vitalise, causing your skin cells to be renewed and your physical body to be refreshed. When you fast for about ten days, your digestive system will shut down, giving rest to your kidneys and intestines. The result will be HEALTH.
Each time I do an extended fast, I realise that I can sleep 6 hours a day and feel refreshed on the following day. I don't feel sleepy like others during lunch hours, since I'm not consuming any food. I only feel weak, but alert.
3) Addictions
If you can de-throne your stomach, you can de-throne anything in your life that seeks to be a throne. This is what I learnt from the Senior Pastor of The Free Chapel, Jentezen Franklin. Our stomach continually desires food. We go against it's desire if we stop it from having food. It is the place where all addictions (I believe it does not matter what kind of addiction it is) can be broken. If you can stop your desire for food, you can stop your desire for anything else.
In my recent fast, I didn't take any coffee. I love coffee and I must have coffee everyday! Since I did not take any food, I couldn't drink coffee. Coffee is acidic and it will damage my digestive system. After my fast has ended, I have no desire whatsoever for coffee. I can simply go without coffee. But I don't mind going back to drinking coffee, since it is not harmful if I don't exceed two cups a day. I'm sharing this to tell you how fasting can break any form of addictions.
In an extended fast, I have no desire for anything when I am weak. I only have desire for Him. My eyes are set upon Him.
4) Healing
Studies have shown that many sicknesses and diseases can be healed or significantly reduced simply by fasting. One example is arthritis or inflammation-related issues. Some also experienced healing due to a drop in sugar and cholestrol level. Another example is gastric problems. Many people think that if they have gastric problems, they cannot fast as they would face severe hunger. The truth is this... gastric is a result of irregular eating habits. If we can break that, we can remove the gastric problems. When we fast for an extended period of time, it allows the body to rest and 'reset' itself. The additional acid produced in patients with gastric issues will be adjusted during fasting. When the system has shut down and reset itself, the body is ready to start over. By introducing healthy diet after a fast, the person no longer struggles with gastric problems.
5) Decreased desire for sweet stuff
After my recent fast, I experience a decreased desire for sweet stuff. Now I can't take kaya and sugary stuff. It's just too sweet for me. For those who love sweet stuff yet concerned about gaining weight, this is a huge bonus!
There are many more benefits. But it would be unjust if I simply talk about the good and not the setbacks.
Setbacks of Fasting
1) You get bad breath
This is normal. Your body is detoxing. Use a breath spray or brush your teeth regularly.
2) You get hunger pangs
This is normal. If you don't eat, you get hungry. The hunger pangs will increase on the 2nd to 3rd day without food. But once you hit 10 days and above, you won't feel hungry. Your digestive system has shut down and it doesn't need any food to feel full. However, between 1-10 days, I usually can't help but buy food, though I can't eat. I will buy food for my wife to eat. In recent fast, I bought some Groupon vouchers too! Bill Johnson, Senior Pastor of Bethel Church, seldom watch TV shows. But when he fasted for 40 days, he watched TV shows on food and he bought 29 cook books from Amazon (though he doesn't cook). There is such an attraction to food when you fast for the first couple of days.
3) You can get headache AND/OR you can't sleep well
As your body is going through de-tox, you may get headache (I normally don't get it) and you may not sleep well. I can't sleep well after a couple of days of fast. I just can't get to sleep.
4) You feel weak
This is common sense. No food = no strength. Climbing a flight of stairs can get me exhausted. So I do it slowly.
5) Reduced amount of fellowship
Singapore is all about food. People have fellowship while eating. When I fast, I give it a miss. I direct my time and energy to spend time with God.
In a nutshell, fasting is one of the most rewarding spiritual lifestyles you can ever have. Give it a shot if you have never tried before. Trust me, you will never regret.
Caution: Do not go for an extended fast if you have never fasted before. Start slow and start small. Like a marathon, you need to pace yourself. For those with gastric issues, please consult a doctor first.
No comments:
Post a Comment