16 “Now whenever you fast, do not make a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they distort their faces so that they will be noticed by people when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 17But as for you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18so that your fasting will not be noticed by people but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
Matthew 6:16-18
The Well Off use fasting to put their focus on God.
Fasting For Praise
Religious leaders use fasting to prove how spiritual they are. Without telling others out loud, religious leaders would look miserable on the outside while they fasted. This would produce the admiration of others.
The reward of the religious was whatever praise they would receive.
The God who rewards in secret ignores fasting done to receive the praise of others.
Craving Gods Provision
Instead, God gave us the fast to focus our lives on him.
Today, our issue isn’t fasting for praise of humans sake. Today, our issue is constant consumption.
Consumption is one of the 3 purposes God gives to us (Creating & Dominion are the other two). Consumption is not bad. God gave us the gift of his creation to enjoy. However, as with any of the 3 purposes, complete focus on Consumption makes consumption our god.
Fasting is a self-induced way to tell your body that you are not made for all consumption, all the time. You make the decision to not eat for a time period (or eat differently aka…the Daniel Fast) to train your body to not make the cravings of this world your god.
Instead of focusing on what part of the created order you can consume, you focus your craving onto God.
The more we get into leadership, the easier it is to consume everything. Consume resources. Consume people. Consume time. We think the world is our oyster. We cease to think God provides because we provide for ourself. When we think we provide for our physical bodies, we then think we provide for our soul too.
Fasting reminds us God is our Provider for our bodies and our soul.
Fasting’s Reward
Because we have a different focus, to bring God’s Kingdom down to earth, fasting is how you push aside consumption for a period to focus on God and his Kingdom. Every time your stomach cries out for food, you train your heart, mind and soul to beg for God to be the source of your strength and provision.
Our soul craves praise, worthiness and stuff. Fasting is the most secret of ways to bring about God’s most secret of rewards. We do not know how God will reward our fasting. This is why we fast. We sacrifice food, something we love, for something we love even more…
God’s Kingdom to come down to earth in ways we cannot ask or imagine.
Prayer: God, give me the ability to use fasting to crave you instead of stuff.
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