The Pressure of Fasting
(Matthew 4:1-4) 1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted to by devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, It is written, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” 5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, thrown Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, “In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” 7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not test the Lord your God.’” 8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” 11 Then the devil left Him, and behold angels came and ministered to Him.
What happens to a rose petal when you apply pressure to it? You get to experience the essence of what was inside the petal. The pressure does not create the sweet aroma, but rather, it reveals and releases the fragrance that was inside all along.
This is similar to what happens when we fast. When we fast, we are allowing pressure to be applied to our lives so that we uncover what’s often hidden inside – sometimes gold, sometimes grime.
In Jesus’ season of fasting we see that when pressure came from without, it revealed what was deep inside of Jesus – the Word. Each time Jesus was tempted He responded with Scripture – Gold.
But often with us, what gets uncovered is not gold, but rather grime. It may be anger, or impatience, or some other impurity, but what comes to the surface is not quite as shiny as gold.
Instead of getting discouraged by this, we should embrace it. This is one of the many reasons we fast. This is when we can present our brokenness to the One Who can bring wholeness and healing to even the darkest places in our lives.
During the upcoming 21-day First-Love Fast, let’s embrace this discomfort and bring our weaknesses to the Lord so that we might be deeply transformed into the image of Christ – thus leading us into a greater level of joy and pleasure.
Prayer: Search me, O God and know my heart. Lord, would you try me and know all my ways and anxious thoughts. See if there is any way of pain and brokenness in me. And then lead my into the way of healing, the way of life, the way-everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24)
