Devotional:

One thing we have done every year leading up to Saturated is fast. Specifically, in past years it has been Daniel Fasting. I admit, I do not like it at all. We have two freezers full of meat because Joby hunts. I actually have three hunters in the house now, and they hunt all year, all over the world. So, it’s not just venison. It’s nilgai, oryx, blackbuck, turkey, pork, elk…let’s just say there is never a meat shortage in the Martin home.

I honestly can’t remember the last time I bought meat (other than chicken) from a grocery store. We are high protein eating carnivores, and it almost seems sinful to let it sit there for twenty-one days without eating it. But, regardless of what that fast looks like, I fast because I know God will show up when I do.

We deny ourselves of things our body needs or desires, and lean on Him for those twenty-one days, praying and listening. We are to forget about ourselves, our cravings, and our own selfish acts when we fast, so that we are humbled before the Lord, completely. The point is not to check it off the list and be proud that you made it through. The point is to remove things in our lives, whatever that may be, so that we can add more of Him into those places. We learn to lean into Him more, not food. We spend more time with Him and less time on the things of this world.  

Yet, fasting, whether it be a food fast or fasting something else that you feel called to give up, can quickly become a thing of pride or even misery. Be honest. Is fasting the one thing you dread about Saturated? Or is it the thing that truly prepares your heart for revival? Have you made fasting a show? Are you boasting and bragging about how you are crushing it? Or is it so difficult for you to fast that it is more of a chore than an act of worship? Do you grumble and complain about it the whole time?

Sometimes we get so focused on the act of fasting and our emotions around fasting that we forget the true reason for it.

“3 ‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?
    Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’
Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,
    and oppress all your workers.
4 Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
    and to hit with a wicked fist.
Fasting like yours this day
    will not make your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is such the fast that I choose,
    a day for a person to humble himself
Is it to bow down his head like a reed,
    and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?
Will you call this a fast,
    and a day acceptable to the Lord?”

— Isaiah 58:3-5

God used Isaiah to call out the nation of Israel who had fallen into religious acts without sincere intentions. They outwardly proclaimed their love for God, checking off all the boxes, obeying God’s law, going to temple, fasting and appearing eager to serve the Lord. Yet, God could see the heart of the people. Inwardly, they were checked out. They had fallen into sinful ways and became complacent, going through the motions. God saw their hearts and was unimpressed, despite the outward religious acts.

Isaiah says, “Fasting like yours this daywill not make your voice to be heard on high.” If this is how we fast, what’s the point? There can be no hearing from God, no sincere prayer for revival, and honestly, no reason when we only do it to check off the box or boast or complain the whole time. I have been there. I have missed out on opportunities to join in the body of Christ and draw near to Him because of my poor attitude and complaining. How sad is that? How many times could He have done amazing things in my life? Instead, I had a bad attitude, went through the motions, and couldn’t wait for it to be over.

In Verse 6, Isaiah explains why and how they should be fasting:

“6 “Is not this the fast that I choose:
    to loose the bonds of wickedness,
    to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
    and to break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
    and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
    and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing shall spring up speedily;
your righteousness shall go before you;
    the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
    you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you take away the yoke from your midst,
    the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
10 if you pour yourself out for the hungry
    and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then shall your light rise in the darkness
    and your gloom be as the noonday.
11 And the Lord will guide you continually
    and satisfy your desire in scorched places
    and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
    like a spring of water,
    whose waters do not fail.”

— Isaiah 58:6-11

I must constantly remind myself that it is an act of reverence to God and forgetting about myself for a while. It is an act of worship and praise and honor to Him. It is a privilege to be in this intimate place where He wants to meet with me. I must decrease so that He will increase. And I must tell myself that God is expecting me to fully show up so that He may reveal himself to me. Why would I want to screw that up?

“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

— Matthew 6:16-18

God isn’t into rituals and routines. He is into a relationship with you and He desires a relationship with you. Fasting allows you to remove something that is important, time-consuming or anything else that takes up space in your life, and place God in that space so you can grow closer to Him and learn to rely on Him for your strength.

“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

— Matthew 6:5-6

What is the common theme for both fasting and prayer in these two passages? In both passages, it says that your fasting and prayer should be done in secret. “And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

As you fast for the next few weeks, whatever fast you have chosen, it is between you and the Lord. No one else. No one gets to tell you how to fast or when to fast or what to fast. Some of you may have physical or medical limitations not allowing any type of food fasting. It is not what you give up that is the most important thing. It is what you choose to do with that space you emptied out so that you can put more of Jesus in.

What is your attitude toward fasting this revival season? What is the one thing that you know you should fast but are too scared to try?

God, I praise You for all the things that give me life, comfort, pleasure and joy! I don’t take for granted the things You have blessed me with. God, help me to remember that everything is from You and You are the sustainer of life. Would You come into the spaces in my life that I have opened for You during these next few weeks?  Fill these spaces so that I am overflowing with Your love and speak to me in a mighty way. Thank You for loving me. Thank You for working in my life. Amen.