14 Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” 15 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. 16 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. 17 Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
Without fail high on the list of my goals for a New Year is to lose weight. I begin with hopes high and end usually losing the battle and defeated. I just wonder what in the world I’d look like if I didn’t try to lose weight.
We hear on the news that we have become a nation that revolves around eating. While many in the world are still battling malnutrition, we in the US battle the bulge more so with all the fast-food restaurants around and quick meals.
The National Centers for Disease Control is concerned with Americans of all ages and national origin of being overweight. The reasons are absolutely astonishing. It is over consumption and inactivity. One of the reasons that we eat too much is that portion sizes in both cookbooks and restaurants are several times larger than the recommended standard serving amounts. The standard serving for meat is 3 ounces. Restaurant portions typically start at more than twice that amount and climb up to 22 to 38 ounces. A medium-size movie theater popcorn consists of 16 cups (the standard serving is 3 cups) and some soda servings can be as big as 44 ounces (the standard serving is 12 ounces).
Rev Andrew Murray made this observation, “In nothing is man more closely connected with the world of sense than in his need of food, and his enjoyment of it. It was the fruit, good for food, with which man was tempted and fell in Paradise. It was with bread to be made of stones that Jesus, when hungered, was tempted in the wilderness, and in fasting He triumphed” (With Christ in the School of Prayer).
We are a nation very dependent upon food, but not primarily for survival reasons. We use food as a means of dealing with depression or anxiety. We grab something to eat because we are bored or as a time filler. We go out to eat to celebrate a special occasion or to make an occasion special. We rarely eat due to a physical necessity because we rarely cease from eating long enough to need to eat again.
Becky Tirabassi relates how the truth of her eating habits became a reality in her book “Let Prayer Change your Life”. She wrote, “While abstaining from food, I was surprised to find out how important and pleasurable food really was to me. Because I was not eating, I realized how often I wanted to eat. (1) simply for emotional comfort, (2) to better enjoy a social gathering, or (3) just to satisfy certain cravings. Without eating for pleasure or comfort, I became very aware of how dependent I had become on food for emotional satisfaction, rather than as nutritional fuel for my body!”
Application: If I am going to do any fasting, I might as well make it count for something. Combining it with prayer and Scripture study is the best thing I know.
Prayer: Lord, as I approach prayer and fasting in my walk with You, give me wisdom, discernment and strength to resist temptation. Lord, that I might honor You in my body and all things.
