[This blog post is part of a series called ‘Hard’ truth]
This series has turned out a little longer than I anticipated. This is it though. I’m drawing the line. These are the last couple of ‘hard’ truths I’m going to share:
Christians should be a hungry people. In June I was thinking about fasting for my dad’s salvation but I was about to go on a mission trip for two weeks, and there were a ton of reasons it wasn’t convenient timing. Thankfully a friend encouraged me to follow the leading of Scripture and the Spirit and let fasting be the exclamation point to my prayers. If I would have waited I would have missed the opportunity to intercede for my dad in that way.
Piper describes fasting as a demonstration of our desperate need for God. He points out that we don’t see a ton of fasting in the American church because we aren’t really desperate for much.
There aren’t a lot of things I want enough that I’d be willing to skip a meal. That makes me sad. Mainly because there’s one thing I want to want desperately – and that’s the return of Christ. One thing I learned this summer is that fasting increases my desire as much as it demonstrates my desires. Even when my heart can’t catch up, my soul’s desires can be demonstrated through my physical hunger, and the hunger teaches my heart holy dissatisfaction.
Singleness is good.