How is your Tuesday fast going? As I reflect on the current state of things, I realize that our practice of fasting over these forty days has much to teach us. Fasting declares that there is something of greater value than my immediate physical desires. It teaches me that “what I want in the moment” is not always the thing I most need.
Let me give an easy example. I hear that everyone is buying up all the toilet paper and I immediately want to go out and “get mine” even though I have plenty already. Do I give in to my immediate want or do I pause, recognize who I am in Christ, and consider what it means to live out of my God given identity as a follower of Jesus Christ.
Fasting causes me to experience a momentary discomfort so that I might experience a greater eternal good. I think there will be plenty of opportunity to put this kind of thinking into practice over the days ahead. You are a child of the King. You are filled with God’s Holy Spirit and equipped for every good work. You are here for such a time as this.
Jeff