Monday, January 26, 2009

21 Day Fast

My wife and I, along with some members of our church and people from over 350 other churches nationwide, are entering the last 6 days of a 21 day fast (more details at Awakening) and, boy, am I hungry. I guess I should probably re-phrase that to read, boy am I craving different foods, because, in truth, we are really not going hungry. We are doing what is called a "Daniel fast" which means we can eat all the fruits and vegetables we want but no meat, bread, grains, dairy, sugar, etc.- basically all the good stuff- and every few days we have a day just juices and liquids, so we are really not suffering all that much. Thursday, Friday and Saturday of this week (the last 3 days of the fast) are just juice and liquids, however, and I know that's going to be tough.
God has revealed a lot of things to both of us over the past 15 days, but the one thing that has made the biggest impact on me is that there are, literally, millions of people around the world that don't have the choice to give up food because they don't have any to begin with. I complain about opening a well stocked refrigerator to eat my fill of fresh fruits and vegetables while children go to bed with empty stomachs all around me. The excess of our society sometimes, to be honest, sickens me and my own selfishness sickens me most of all. I have determined that somehow, someway I will make a difference and, in my own small way, help to alleviate this situation.
When I read Matthew 25: 31-46 I realize that it is talking to me and that I have no excuses for turning my back other than my laziness and self-centeredness. Lord help us to "step-up."

1 comment:

Ken DeChant said...

I know you're on the home stretch, and I just want you to know that I'm so proud of you (even though that really doesn't matter). I'm excited about what God is doing in you and I'm looking forward to seeing what God does with all of this "holy discontent."