Woah. If only I had known sooner the confidence and strength one can feel in Christ to overcome their personal sin.

My break-fast (literally) this Sunday morning was my first uncontrolled meal in seven days. I enjoyed a Croque Madame, for those interested. For the past week, my daily intake was limited to 1 boiled egg, 1/3 cup of rice, 1/3 cup of beans, 1/3 cup of nuts, and a piece of fruit. I drank only water, with one exception: on my date night, I swapped rice and beans for a beer. My fast, my rules!

That’s about 600 calories a day, down from the 2,600 I usually consume to maintain my weight. Some fasting veterans might think 600 calories is still rookie league, but as a first-timer, I’m comfortable hitting off the tee-ball stand for now.

WHY FAST?

Christ talks about ‘when we fast,’ not ‘if we fast’ (Matthew 6:16-18). It’s part of the Christian life, something the early church practiced often (Acts 13:2, Acts 14:23). Every Christian I know who has fasted speaks of its tremendous benefits to their faith. Inspired by books like Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline (highly recommended) and sermons on the topic, I decided to try it myself when my father invited me to join his fast last Sunday.

I had some upcoming events, birthdays and family gatherings (and date night!), that were going to make this very awkward, so I was leaning toward saying no. However, some old sayings about waiting for perfect conditions started ricocheting within the walls of my head. So, I said, “Sure!”

There wasn’t much more to it than that.

Diving in head first, here's three hunger-satsifying nuggets that I gained on this journey:

1. MOTIVATION.

Fast for the wrong reasons, and you’ll reap the wrong benefits.

We’re all familiar with diet culture. Fasting has clear benefits for health and weight loss, and if you fast for those reasons, you’ll see physical results. I lost 6kg (13 lbs) in a week. Fasting can also bring mental clarity, detox your system, save money, simplify life, improve habits, and foster personal growth. However, as Christians, our primary reason for fasting should be to grow closer to Christ. A huge challenge was having to consciously push aside all other motivations to focus on this.

Why? Because I could go from fat to thin, from mentally foggy to clear minded, or from financially stressed to controlled due to a diet. But I would be no closer to God. I would simply lose one vanity to gain another. To do this right, you have to put all that aside, in order to get to point two.

2. SANCTIFICATION.

Sanctification is the process of becoming more like Christ. It’s an ongoing work that requires our cooperation with the Holy Spirit, to be holy - set apart for goodness and righteousness and for His glory. While we can reform our behaviors through our efforts, true transformation comes from God.

“I’ve seen many a bad man turn into a good man by their own effort. They quit drinking, smoking, fighting, lusting, etc. I’ve seen men work an awful reformation in their lives — but they can’t work regeneration in their lives; that’s the work of the Spirit of God.” – Leonard Ravenhill.

Controversial take: You can quit PMO by your own strength. Sanctification to the image of Christ, however, is something only God can accomplish. During my fast, I struggled to keep my focus on spiritual growth rather than physical benefits. I'll level with you right now; I did a poor job most the time! However, during moments when I succeeded, I felt the Spirit’s strength in a powerful way.

3. STRENGTH.

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.” – Paul, to the Ephesians (Ephesians 6:10)

It’s been a challenging week. One surprising discovery was my hidden addiction to food. True gluttony. It's like there is this wild tiger that I have been feeding and nuturing all my life, and this last week it was starved, hungry, and was violently let loose within my spirit. Fasting revealed how often I fixated on food.

Can you see the parallel here to your PMO addiction? If you need a helpful example, this fixation is like a runaway train that inevitably leads to sin. Once you step off the platform and onto the caboose, and you let those thoughts fester in your mind, and you run along with them, that train is going one place, and it isn't slowing down. You only have two choices; ride it all the way or jump off while you can.

My dad’s constant reminder to not fixate on food was a lesson in our larger battle against sin. Fasting taught me that I can resist temptation and keep my eyes on Christ, even when the urge is strong. The key is to avoid getting on to train fixation. No pretentiousness here: I rode that train a lot this week. But never all the way. I never broke my fast and gave in to that food. It was rough though, but I never gave in. But man, I experienced a real strength.

I have no doubt that I will fast again. Maybe a weekly fast twice a year. Maybe a daily fast every week, and 3-day fasts every month. There is no turning back for me now.

AN INVITATION

There’s more I’d love to share, but I think I’ve covered the main points. I hope you feel encouraged that you can overcome and make progress in your faith. Keep moving forward and pressing on!

To inspire some discussion, I’d love to hear from you. Have you ever fasted? What has it been like for you? If not, when will you start and how long will you go for?