Fasting in His Strength

It is tempting to get into an achievement mentality with fasting. We set a goal perhaps and we want to conquer it. God knows us better than we know ourselves and we should always be sensitive to Him and seeking Him for His plans for the fast before we begin. It is easy to forget that it is not about us and our plans, but about Him and what He has for us.

I am very achievement oriented. I want to go full throttle and I generally despise the precept upon precept, line upon line way of God. Frankly, I hate it. It challenges me to the core to be patient in an undertaking and go piece by piece. It is ineffective to turn fasting into a self-ish thing and it is often unseen when we slip into this mindset.

There are only two ways to accomplish a fast, by the flesh or by the Spirit. We are vines (John 15) and we can produce fruit in keeping with the Spirit or in keeping with the flesh. Both fasts produce as far as we can see, but only one produces life-giving, sustainable fruit. The other yields temporary fruit that will satisfy for a moment before dying off to a complete destruction in time. If I come away from a fast with greater confidence in my ability to do it, I missed it and it will come to nothing. In a fast, we should come away with greater confidence in His ability on our behalf, not our own. God desires to produce in us; He wants to do the work. The fast God wants is the one that proves Him, His ability, His strength, not you. His fast will follow the Spirit at all times and therefore produce effectual, eternal results. Just a thought... very briefly.