Hosanna Restoration Church

Recently I was led to read the 6th chapter of Matthew. To be honest, I tried to start with chapter 5, because I knew that was the beginning of this teaching by Jesus, but the direction was for chapter 6 and so I had to go there. Do you ever get directions from the Lord and then try to reason why it would be okay to do something a little different? What is the big deal about deciding to read chapter 5 too? Well, the big deal was that that God wanted chapter 6. And so I began, wondering what it was that God had in mind.

I read through the part about giving, but that was not to be the point. Then came the part about prayer. Giving and praying are both greatly needed, but they still were not what God had in mind. And then came the word about fasting. Twice the Lord said, “When you fast.” He did not say if you fast, or if it is convenient you might want to fast some times. He simply said, “When you fast,” and then gave some directions about it how to act and look when you are doing it.

I looked up fast in the dictionary, and recognized all of the different meanings of the word, from speeding to holding securely, to going without certain foods, to going without food all together.

Going without food for an extended time has never been much of a problem for me. As long as I don’t taste it, I am fine. Eating slowly or not eating much when I eat, now that is another story. I really have to work at that. Well, after pointing this out to me, the Lord directed me to a particular fast and I immediately said I could do that and so it began. I did not question or resist, I knew it was God and that was it. Then came the time when the Lord decided that it was over, but for some reason I was not so quick to just obey. The fast was going good and I found myself questioning the same voice that told me to start. In fact, it was not until the third time that I was convinced that I should do what He said. What in the world made me think that I could impress God by going on with something that He determined was done? Well, He got His way and I was ready to learn what He was ready to teach me.

One thing is for certain the Lord plans on us fasting. It is good for us. He fasted for 40 days in the wilderness in preparation for ministry. Our lives are ministries. Not just preachers or missionaries, but the truth is we all are preachers and missionaries. The Lord also brought to mind that there are other things that we can and should include in our list of things to fast. We all need to fast things like selfishness, unforgiveness, anger, and etc. Those should be complete and forever! I still need work, how about you? Sometimes we need to fast shopping and act on giving. We need to fast our busyness and act on our praying. Far to many of us allow distractions to cause us to fast or stay away from the very things that give us life. We can fast a meal, a favorite snack, a television program, or any of a number of things. Ask the Lord what you fast that you should not, and what you should fast that you do not. Remember He said, “When you fast.”