A Time to Fast
The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.
– Matthew 9:15 (ESV)
Beloved?
Now, is the time to fast.
Why?
The bridegroom has been taken away from us – for only a little while.
Hark! O, my soul! Don’t despair. He will come again soon – very soon.
In the meantime, we fast, yes? Aye.
We do it for several reasons, beloved:
To honor Him.
To awaken our appetites so we can be satisfied, fully, One Day.
To, more fully, appreciate His mercies here and now.
To remain humble, knowing all good things come from Him – only Him.
To invigorate our neediness, our longing, our desire for Him: our Beloved.
To show him our love, here, now, through patience.
To prove to Him and ourselves: He’s worth waiting for.
How do we fast?
It’s quite simple – logically – yet so very difficult, practically speaking: We don’t grasp. When we have a need, and we will; we don’t take, we ask Him to provide.
O, beloved! I wonder…what would have been the result in the Garden, if Adam and Eve had simply considered Together, and pondered in their hearts, their desire for this forbidden fruit; and instead of grasping after it, asked their God instead?
What would have been His response to them, if they had said something like: “O, God, we know you asked us not to eat of the tree that is forbidden…it…looks so very delicious, may we have some, please? We are so very hungry…and we know you satisfy the desires of all living things. May we have some, please? We won’t grasp after it ourselves, but God, if you give us some, then we’ll know it’s okay to eat of it.”
He may have simply said “No”, and if He did, then we know His will, yes? And then, it’s a matter of being obedient and waiting…or, perhaps, asking again, and again, and again (respectfully, fervently)…pleading with Him for an answer, an explanation, or asking Him to redirect our desires to another fruit, perhaps, that He deems appropriate - that He thinks will better satisfy? I wonder…what would have happened if they would have…asked instead of grasped?
I wonder, still, now – what will happen if we ask instead of grasp? What if, through fasting, we determine to open our hands to receive, good things from Him, instead of taking for ourselves? What if we, instead of despairing, and lamenting our time here in the wilderness without our Beloved; we, with the power of His Spirit, take hold of our perspective and consider this: an opportunity of fasting as His gift to us to help us learn how to ask instead of grasp?
Fasting, in a way, seems miserable…but beloved! What if it’s the most wonderful thing!? We don’t slump down in despair, we don’t droop our heads low…we, gladly, expectantly, ask! And then, we trust, and we wait! knowing He is good, and He loves us, and all He desperately wants is for us to be fully satisfied in Him and Him alone. He doesn’t want us wandering around aimlessly trying to satisfy our own desires with things: good things He’s created even; He wants us to realize that we can, indeed! trust Him to provide for our every need. May I say it once more, please?
He will satisfy the desire of our every need.
You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing. – Psalm 145:16
Aye – if we let Him.
So, beloved? It’s time to fast! Do you see? Let our tummies growl and grow hungry! Let our hearts faint for Him. May our minds thirst to know Him more than anything else to be known. Let us be sick with love!
It’s Time to fast, beloved! The Bridegroom, He’s coming soon! We must be hungry, and ready! He might even come this very night! (giddy)