He was a little tired. The surroundings were familiar, but remained still awkward. He liked the outdoors and was no stranger to it. The birds made their usual noises, the wind in the trees played constant background music for the thoughts that ran through his head.
"This is the will of God. I know it," he said out loud. After all, no one was around so he could talk out loud. It is OK to talk out loud to yourself, right? Or was he alone. Sometimes he felt a cool presence there with him that made him uncomfortable. Not a presence with a "nifty" "neat-o" kind of cool, but a chilling sense of some sort of indefinable lingering ever present danger coolness.
He spent a lot of time outside and was accustomed to even sleep outside, but he knew he was beginning to wear down. Early on visitors made an occasional quest to see him, but lately no one came anymore. Had all his friends forgotten about him? If they did, that sure didn't take long. Throughout his sabbatical like experience, he continued to pray for his friends even though they no longer came. He prayed for their safety while he was gone. He meant it, too. He knew they had issues of their own to work out while he was away, so while he prayed for his own soul and safety, he prayed for theirs also.
That's when it happened. He was in a spirit of prayer and thinking about what was important in life, when he heard a voice. Not a strange voice, but one that had an eerie familiarity about it. He had heard this voice before. Too many times before. I must be strong he thought. The voice came closer and closer until he heard the words articulated by the unwelcome presence perfectly clear. "Feeling Hungry? I'll bet you are," the voice interrupted.
The words were true. He hadn't been eating and he was hungry. I must be strong. I can do this.
"If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread,"1 the voice daringly spoke.
If I am the son of God he thought? You know who I am.
Jesus hesitated only a moment and then he said, "It is written, Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."2
Jesus had been fasting for 40 days when the tempter suggested that he turn stones into bread. Like this would be any big deal for Jesus. He didn't need stones to make bread. He could make it from nothing. He made manna from air for 40 years. He made water come out of rocks. He made fruit grow out of sticks and vegetables come out of dirt. So what was the big deal here?
And what did Jesus say that day? Did he say I'm not hungry? No. Did he say food is not important? No. Did he say fasting makes you more spiritual? No. He said thanks for the invite but there is something going on here that is much greater than my desire for food.
Greater than my desire for food you say? What is greater than that? Without food I will die, at least after while. Oh, and water too. That's really important. What is more important than that.
Jesus said that day, my obedience to God is more important than my stomach. It is more important than my health, and it is more important than my life. You can play games by asking me if I am the son of God, get real, you know that I am. But you cannot play games with what is the most important thing in the universe. God is. The relevance of every thing that exists is only to the degree it relates to God. Jesus' submission to the will of God was at stake and he resisted the tempter and did not take the easy way out.
Beloved, there is a whole lot more going on in your life besides food, and water, and clothes, and job, and friends. God says, "Do you love me more than all these."3 Forget about stuff that doesn't matter, and focus on what does. You spend money to make your self feel better? The Bible says you buy what will never satisfy.4 You drink flavored water to make it taste better? Jesus said find in me a fresh spring of living water that springs up with constant refreshment.5 You eat food to comfort yourselves? God said find in me food that no one can take away. Work for everlasting food. Feast on the bread of life. Jesus is the bread of life.
That's where fasting comes in. Fasting is voluntary denial of an otherwise normal activity for the sake of intense spiritual activity.6 When we fast, we lay aside a normal hunger to refocus and rekindle a hunger for God. Our hunger for food reminds us of our need to hunger for God. What do we know about fasting?
| Augustine | John Calvin |
| John Knox | John Wesley |
| Jonathan Edwards | David Brainerd |
| Charles Finney | Martin Luther |
Fasting is not commanded. The Bible speaks from the understanding that growing Christians would fast, but there is no command. Matthew 6:16-18 says "Whenever you fast, don't be sad-faced like the hypocrites... But when you fast, put oil on your head, and wash your face, so that you don't show your fasting to people but to your Father who is in secret." Martin Luther said about these verses, Jesus was not rejecting or despising fasting, his intention was to restore proper fasting. Fasting was hypocritical and done for show. Jesus pointed that out to them. That is the hardest part of fasting for me. It is often hard to keep fasting between you and God, if you have a family for example.
Most fasting is from food. Sometimes a fast is from food and water.
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Copyright © 2005 by Kevin Binkley