Friday, April 11, 2025
“24-Hour Fast”
Yep! It’s finally arrived! This is the first of two 24-hour fasts we will face in our Lenten Challenges this Season.
For those who are new to the whole fasting concept or those who won’t try to fast, please allow for a very brief explanation. Don’t worry. I’m not going to provide some inspirational speech that will motivate (or guilt) you into doing something you don’t want to do. Fasting is something that’s been around for thousands of years, and it is practiced by nearly every religion that has ever existed. Fasting is nothing new to the world, and, in some places, fasting is a part of daily life.
Fasting, as a spiritual discipline, is not intended to show us how much weight we need to lose, nor is it intended to show us how much food we waste every day. Fasting is not intended to make us hungrier when we break the fast at the end of our 24 hours. Instead, a one-day fast is intended to show us that we are much more capable of accomplishing something BIG than we might think.
For instance, if you haven’t eaten anything today, then don’t! No food today. But guess what? Drinks are okay. Whatever drinks you want are just fine, though smoothies would be kinda’ breaking the rules. So would a cheeseburger in a blender. Don’t do that. If you have a special event or meal today and you need to eat, go ahead. You can start your 24-hour fast after that or just start it tonight after dinner.
Think you can do this? Can you go 24 hours without eating food? Now, if the doc says you can’t do this Challenge, don’t! Use your brain! If your doctor says you gotta eat, follow the doctor’s orders. Instead of eating, spend an hour with the LORD today. Break your hour up into pieces if you want, but give at least 1 of your 24 hours to God today. For the rest of us, let’s give it a shot. We can lean on God and focus on the LORD when it gets tough.
You got this. I got this, too. But most importantly, God has both of us.
“But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:16 -18 NIV)
