Our “F” word of the day is Food, or really I should say Fasting. I’m 24 hours into a new fast for a specific need I have. That need is a JOB for those of you following along at home.
Since the first of the year I have been able to fast at least once and as many as three days in a row per week. I have seen answers to my prayers in those days. There is a clarity that arises. It helps with the “what are we going to eat” dilemma for sure.
That term “what are we going to eat” has a very different tone and connotation to us here in America as opposed to those in say sub-Saharan Africa or even Christ’s contemporaries when we taught them to pray asking for God to, “give us this day our daily bread.” We ask the question faced with such a myriad of choices that we can’t make up our minds. Others ask the question not having any idea what food will be available or what will be it’s source.
When fasting we realize that God will provide. He will provide other substance. As Christ quoted from the Old Testament when Satan tempted Him after 40 days of fasting, “man does not live my bread alone but by every Word that proceedeth from the mouth of God.” In the midst of a fast you aren’t looking for the next meal, you aren’t wandering around the kitchen grazing on whatever snack you stumble across. Instead you are waiting with great intent for a gourmet meal from the Lord. A Word, an answer, a reassurance prepared just for you by the premier chef. The only one that could create everything from nothing. His pantry is never bare!
“Taste and see that the Lord is good” scripture tells us. When fasting we come to His table with a clean palate. You don’t have to rush to dessert because every serving from the crackers to the soup to the Meat of His Word is as sweet and filling as any cake we can conceive.
You want to hear from God? Put down your fork and ask Him, then listen, in the ratio God gave us, two ears and one mouth. Bring your petitions, attach them to your praise, then wait for the silver lid to be lifted revealing God’s provision. Savor every bite, breath deep the aroma, leave the table fulfilled. Eat in peace, not rushed. King David said, “the lord has prepared for me a table, in the presence of my enemies.” When I’m with Him, ingesting His Word, my enemies do not distract me. My worst enemy is my own mind and its vain imaginations. It creates dangers that aren’t there and puts up blockades between me and what God has prepared for me.
At “The Lord’s Table” I can commune with Him. I’m not talking about walking the aisle and taking the wafer and the juice. I’m talking about a quiet time with He and I forming a “common union” by allowing His precious blood and incorruptible body to replace my bloodlust for material things and my corrupted body with its desires for the junk food of this world
If you have never fasted then now is the time. Set aside a few moments in the day and seek the Lord. Find the clarity of mind that comes from a body at rest. Not worrying about what’s for supper while still digesting lunch but instead hungering for what God has in store for the next course.
Bon appetit mais amis!