An Alternative Fast

Several years ago, I taught a class on spiritual practices, and we came to the topic of fasting. In the class, we reflected on how, for some of us, fasting from food may not be a great idea for health reasons. And for others of us, perhaps really, God could be inviting us to fast from something else.

I have a friend who was feeling a tremendous amount of stress and anxiety about our country and politics and the world around us. It all just felt like everything was going to hell in a handbasket. In fact, he was so overwhelmed that he wasn’t sleeping. And he just decided, I am going to fast from cable network news for three weeks. And you know what? It worked. The stress and anxiety disappeared.

Another friend said he decided to refrain for a while from reading any opinion pieces in the newspaper. She made the point: Their job is to just get me all riled up. They get paid for it. They have a huge incentive, and they are good at it! So, I’m going to fast from that.

Others of us may benefit from a fast from social media or maybe alcohol. Or perhaps there is one day a week we could fast from television, or email, or shopping, or spending money…

St. Augustine once said that God is always trying to give good things to us, but our hands are too full to receive them. Gerald May added, “And not only our hands but also our hearts, minds, and attention are clogged… (These things) fill up the spaces within us, spaces where grace might flow…”

What people of faith have found over the centuries is that the limits imposed by fasting are actually life-restoring. They reveal our excessive attachments, our addictions, and the assumptions that lie behind them. They remind us that we ultimately depend on God. They clear us out to allow us to hear his voice, receive his grace, and experience his peace.

If you try a fast of this type, my prayer for you is that this would be a time of intentionally deepening your faith so that when you find yourself in the midst of the difficulties of life, you will also discover a courage and a strength and a hope that only God can give—when our hands are empty and our hearts are open.

Let us pray: I pray today, O God, that you would draw near to those who need you near. If there are activities or things that are getting in the way of our relationship with you, give us eyes to see and hearts to respond. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.