Last week we learned why we fast. Do you want to know what happens when we fast for the right reasons?
He humbled you, causing you to hunger and feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
Deuteronomy 8:3 (NIV)
God is so extraordinary that everything He does is full of purpose and meaning. In the above verse, we learned that the Israelites received manna (bread from Heaven) to survive their time in the desert AND learn to be humble and totally depend on God.
To the unbeliever, such a lesson may seem unnecessary or selfish, but to believers in our good Heavenly Father, this lesson should give us peace of mind and make us feel loved. Humanity is peculiar. When we think we do not need God, we always walk away from Him. That, my friends, is not only foolish but is also very prideful.
Pride is dangerous. It is why satan was expelled from Heaven and the root of terrible acts throughout human history. Physical hunger is one of the fastest ways to help us get rid of pride. Once we know that, it makes sense that God will use hunger to humble His people. By providing them with manna, the bread from Heaven, God gave them something perfect to sustain them and something, unlike anything they had ever known and could not duplicate. Since only God could give it to them, they had to depend on Him.
Manna kept them healthy and strong. No one died of malnutrition or known illnesses in the regions where Israel traveled in the desert. Manna was versatile. They could cook it in different ways. They could eat it to their hearts contents all day long. They could pick up as much manna as needed but could not store it for the next day. They had to learn to depend on God daily. Manna was miraculous.
When we fast for the right reasons, we humble ourselves before God and declare our dependency on Him. We seek to survive not on bread but on what comes out of the mouth of God, and our faithful God sends us spiritual manna to sustain us. Our fast becomes a feast of his presence.
In God’s presence, there is joy. In His presence, there is healing for our souls and our bodies. There is no need to do spiritual warfare in His presence, for no devil dares to act out in God’s presence. We find answers to our questions and freedom from our bondage in Him. My friends, I pray with all my heart that from now on, our fasting seasons become feasting in God’s presence.
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