The bible is full of verses about fasting.
2 Samuel 1:12
12
And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the LORD, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword.
Acts 13:2
2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said*, Separate me* Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
Esther 4:16
16
Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.
And the best one of all
Mathew 16:6
“Moreover when you fast, don't be like the hypocrites, with sad faces. For they disfigure their faces, that they may be seen by men to be
So...if it's in the bible, even in the New Testament, (notice He says "when you fast") then it must be a good thing right? I mean besides the obvious emptying of our bodies to show God He is all we need and rely on for everything physical in our lives. (duh)
I know plenty of Christians who believe in fasting, but as a general rule it is almost always in supplication. Or as much as I have read and talked to people about, it is.
What if we did it for the temple of the Spirit?
What if we took that command in the Bible and turned it into a health benefit for our bodies?
God never commanded anything that was bad, unhealthy or harmful for us. So there must be practical life benefits to fasting, not every once in a while, but as a life style. Always, of course, giving the glory to our Father who inspired writers from beginning to end, who brought this practice down through history.
Let me make this clear, I am not in anyway saying this should replace a true spiritual fast, when you do empty yourself and present yourself to the Father and acknowledge that He is all we ever need.
That got me to thinking (always dangerous) and looking online.
That's when I found the Intermittent Fasting diet.
And everything I can see, the benefits are outstanding. Aside from the obvious you know, only if your are healthy and don't have eating disorders or anything that would cause a fast to be dangerous to your health.
All that aside, He has created a wonderful machine in our bodies, if we take out all the over processed, bad stuff we put in our body and give it time to heal, an amazing thing happens, it starts to repair itself.
Unfortunately if you read too much online they, as always , try and drag it back to evolution, to our bodies adapting over, what.....millions of years, (really?) I see it as God's perfect design made manifest.
Nothing I have read online has pointed one finger to God and His perfect works in our creation, so I thought I would bring it up here. (it's my blog, I can do that)
I won't get into the whole, "why does everything have to exclude God? Why can't everyone see that in this masterful design is a Masterful Designer? Why can't creation see that there MUST be a Creator?) it boggles the brain.
Honestly, I think what you read online about intermittent fasting further proves there can be no other explanation besides a wonderful Creator who built our bodies perfectly to do everything it does. (but ok, that' a whole different discussion)
I.F. (to save time) is just as it says, intermittent (on again, off again) fast.
I chose the 16:8 protocol (as they like to call it) fast for 16 hours, an open window of eight hours to get my three meals in.) from 1p-9p.
I had made my plan, picked my options and jumped full in yesterday.
I assumed that it would be easy for me since I get up at 5:30a and work until 1p. I usually skip breakfast at least three days a week so I didn't see where it would be that hard.
One thing I've learned, I apparently snack without thinking about it more than I noticed.
Second day in and I am hungry, stomach growling, hungry. They say it gets better over time, we will see.
Now does this process take away from the idea of fasting to come before the Father? Does it interfere with His glory?
I don't think so, not for me.
As per spiritual fasting, every hunger pang brings a prayer from me "Thank you Jesus for the ability to pick and chose when I want to eat." "Thank you Jesus I have a pantry full of food that I can go to whenever I want" And when I reach my eating time, "bless this food I am about to eat, may it always remind me of my dependence on you"
So not only am I focusing on my inner body, but on my spiritual one as well, everyday instead of only when I need something.
I believe you can clean up a pile of dog pooh, and as long as you do it for the Lord, the fact doesn't diminish His greatness, in fact brings Him honor that you consider Him in even the most menial tasks.
In closing, I will be doing the I.F., I will be posting my results, and I will do it all for the
Glory of the One who died for me.
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