What can help motivate me to not give up during my fast?
Even purely from a physical standpoint, fasting does a body good. It’s like spring cleaning for the system, and depending on how long you stick with it, you can experience anything from weight loss to more profound health benefits. This can be a good reminder when you feel like giving up. While these are positive benefits, they should be secondary to the main purpose of sticking to the fast.
Let’s take a moment to remind ourselves that the singular act of denying food does not constitute the type of fast that God intended. This is a spiritual fast, not a physical diet. If we don’t want our motivation to be solely measured by the physical body, we should take a deeper look at where our spiritual motivation should come from.
Today’s Topic
What can help motivate me to not give up during my fast?
Psalm 119:2 says, “Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart” (NIV). Because God clearly expects us to fast (“When you fast…”, Matthew 6:16, NIV, emphasis added), this is one of His statutes. Want to be blessed by the Lord? Want to see His favor explode in your life? Keep His statutes. Fast. Give. Pray. During this time of fasting, seek Him with all your heart. As you seek Him, refer back to your personal reasons for fasting. If you’ve not created this list yet, I urge you to do so. This list, in and of itself, is a powerful source of motivation.
By setting your sights on the promised end result of this special time between you and God, your spiritual senses will be heightened, giving you ears to hear and eyes to see God’s perfect will for this time or season in your life. Over the remaining days of the fast, I challenge you to get quiet with God. Tune out the world around you and really open your heart. Listen to the small, still voice within. It is during these moments that the Lord will reveal Himself to you. I feel urgency to discover and know God’s plan. My motivation is that I no longer want to waste time with my own plans. Fasting prepares us for a new anointing or a new direction. It’s like flipping the “On” switch, releasing God’s power in a way that wouldn’t happen with the switch turned off. (Philippians 4:13) (Romans 2:6)
I encourage you to not give up during this fast. Persevere. “Blessed [happy, spiritually prosperous, favored by God] is the man who is steadfast under trial and perseveres when tempted; for when he has passed the test and been approved, he will receive the [victor’s] crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him” (James 1:12, Amplified).
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