“Well, did it work?”
This was the most common question we received, in a number of different forms, when someone heard we’d done a 40-day fast. Understandably. We certainly don’t just go without all our favorite foods for fun. There was a purpose to this. It was meant to accomplish something, right?
So, most people want to get to the bottom line: Was it worth it?
I much prefer the latter question over the first. Was it worth it? Absolutely. Did it work? Let’s talk about that question for a minute.
In The Jesus Fast, Lou Engle speaks from experience and encourages aspiring fasters to remember that most often, spiritual revelation and breakthrough comes after the fast, not during. He said he has rarely experienced a supernatural “answer” during a time of fasting. Occasionally he has had a significant breakthrough occur around day 20-21, but more often than not, he wasn’t even aware of the spiritual significance of the fasting time, until afterwards.
I am so glad we knew that going into this. I didn’t have expectations of lofty dreams or visions. What I did have was a full assurance of faith that this was God’s plan, and faith, by definition, believes that God rewards those who diligently seek Him. So, I was confident that there would be a spiritual blessing by setting aside this time to diligently seek Him, but I didn’t necessarily have expectations of any certain thing happening during my fast.
But, things did. A lot of things are personal in nature, having to do with people and relationships, but I saw significant spiritual breakthrough in relationships. I saw people I had been praying for, making choices to lay things down, to turn more fully to Jesus. I saw issues surface and be dealt with. I saw answers to prayer for my children and family.
One team member saw a miracle. Like, a real one. I hope to share it with you soon.
And I had several dreams. I’ll share more about those on Monday, but just from a practical standpoint I want to emphasize, and hopefully encourage anyone fasting, not to be discouraged if they don’t have some big spiritual high or breakthrough, or feel like they have goosebump experiences the whole time. Fasting is hard. It’s the dying of our flesh and self and it isn’t always a ra-ra pep-rally experience. The Christian walk isn’t this. Just as marriage isn’t always butterflies and Hollywood sex, so our love relationship with Jesus isn’t always goose-bump encounters and spiritual highs. I love those things, but the stuff of devotion, the stuff of marriage is often the day-to-day choice to love no matter how you feel. Fasting was a clear picture of this truth. It didn’t matter how we felt that day, we chose to follow through, by faith, believing God is who He says He is and will do what He says He’ll do no matter how we felt.
Our faith falters when we focus on results. Our faith flourishes when we focus on HIM.
So did it work? Not sure. Does God work? Absolutely. Always.
He promises to reward those who seek Him (Heb. 11:6). That’s enough for me.
{Happy weekend! Thanks for reading.}