Fasting is Feasting!

“Fasting is more than a moment, it’s a lifestyle.”

--Jill Hellwig

I want you to accomplish and achieve all you set out to this year. You have begun with momentum and there is nothing that can hold you back! There may be obstacles that come your way, but you can move through them with grace and peace because, in the midst of the process, you remember that all things will ultimately work together for your good. Be tenacious and remember your WHY. Whatever your assignment is in this current season, you have the tools and skills you need for where you are today.

So, how do we stay on track and ensure the things we choose to do on a daily basis are the RIGHT things? I have found that living a fasted lifestyle is the best way for me to not only learn to deny my own physical desires, but to stay in tune with the positive inner voice.

Many people have found fasting to be a rewarding spiritual experience. I want to also talk a bit about the physical benefits of fasting. I believe the two experiences (both spiritual and physical) go hand in hand.

Before you tune me out, I’m not asking you to do an extended 40-day or 21-day fast, although if you feel an unction to do that, I will encourage it. What I am asking you to consider today is living a fasted lifestyle. What that means is abstaining from food a certain meal every week, or a regular day every week. I have found this practice helps with my spiritual development as well as cleansing and purifying my physical body. Fasting gives our bodies a moment to take a “time out” from digestion and eating, to “re-set” what is going on inside. I believe it not only gets us closer to our purpose, calling, and assignment, but it also gets our bodies in a mode of healing themselves.

Desire and Appetite.

We live in a world today that is all about satisfying our appetites. No matter what we want, our world tells us to get it, and to have more of it. Our physical desires and fleshly human bodies crave; we crave food, we crave fun, we crave acceptance. We crave money, security, love….and the list goes on and on.

How beneficial would it be if we learned to say “no” more often and learned to curb our hunger?

In my life, denying myself and my own desires has proven to be the path for me to get back to what really matters, to get my mind and body back into alignment with the right cravings. I started this year off with a 6-day fast and it felt great. In the past, I’ve done 3-day, 8-day, 10-day, or 1 day fasts.

I’ve made a commitment to living a fasted lifestyle. For me that means not eating any solid food on Wednesdays. For you it may mean something completely different, but I’d like you to consider the concept of fasting regularly for added spiritual, health, and life benefits. Don't let this become another rule you have to follow, but something that you choose to do. This should be a spirit-led activity in which you feel complete freedom to give up all food or some food (maybe sugar or meats and breads). The rhythm and length of the fast is completely up to you.