When we fast, we come face to face with the limitations of our humanity. Of course, every time we get hungry, every time our blood sugar gets low, and every time we vomit, we realize that our body is dependent on bringing in good nutrients to keep us going. Our entire lives, we ride along the precipice of not having enough. We survive because we need a fairly constant source of provision.

In fasting, we push the limits of this dependency as a reminder. Sometimes it's to the extreme edge of life, sometimes it’s only just a bit harder than we’re used to. No matter what it is, we realize that our body reacts when we deny ourselves the food we need to live. We are limited; we are dependent. We cannot train ourselves hard enough, or push our will strong enough to where we can live without food.

Last night, God took the next opportunity in this season of Lent to bring me a reminder of my limited humanity. Most of you have probably heard that my dad suffered a stroke and I’ve been sitting in the hospital watching his human limitations play right out in front of me. When we don’t have enough food, we cannot live. And when your brain doesn’t get oxygen for a far less amount of time than we can fast, our body immediately and permanently begins falling apart.

Medical science is wonderful, but we always depend on God to hold the fragile thread of our life in His hands. He is the provider of life and we must lean on Him whether we like it or not. No matter how hard we try to grab control of our lives, we don’t have a choice but to surrender some of it, and we’re so much better off the more we choose to surrender.

What I know, is I am so glad that God has this control. Even in the worst moments last night, I am comforted by God’s provision. My dad isn’t doing great, but he is going in the right direction and all I can do is praise our God in response. He is so kind, so loving, and so good. Be encouraged, because you are finite, but we serve a God who is unlimited in power and goodness.

In Christ,

PD

In Matthew 9:15-17, a group comes to Jesus with some questions. They notice the Pharisees fast. They notice that John the Baptist’s disciples fast. So why aren’t Jesus’ disciples fasting?

So Jesus asks a question Himself: “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” And then, He uses illustrations of using new cloth to patch old fabric and making wine in new wine skins. So what’s He saying?

Not only is He explaining that when He is present with the disciples in the flesh they should be celebrating, but He also points out that when things are new, we can’t do the same old stuff. Rather, old practices must be renewed. So the disciples wouldn’t be fasting the old way because things were changing and they required something fresh.

With the Law, the burden of righteousness was on those who were following the Law. You might say their righteousness needed to be earned, and so fasting was seen as a way to earn God’s favor. Of course, we eventually learn that the true purpose of the Law was to reveal to us that we can’t earn it, which means we needed something different.

Today, we don’t fast to earn God’s favor, but as a way of dying to self so that we might be closer to God. And since it’s the weekend, you might experience that a little bit more. I sure do. Fasting during the week when I’m distracted in the office is much easier than a weekend where I can get bored and I lose the opportunity to ask, “Would you like to go to lunch today?”

But that’s okay - and even good - because we should deny ourselves. Spoiler alert, this Sunday we’re talking about surrendering to God as a part of our repentance process. We’ll be looking at Luke 9 where Jesus says, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

So this weekend, let it be our joy to deny ourselves in whatever we’ve committed to God.

In Christ,

PD