You can fast and still miss God

When we think about fasting, the first thing we think about is skipping food. 

We count the hours until we can eat again, carefully plan what we'll avoid, and endure the physical discomfort that comes with denying our appetite. 

While abstaining from food is part of biblical fasting, it's far from the whole picture. Biblical fasting also requires guarding what we allow into our heart and mind. True consecration won't happen while we continue feeding our spirit with things that pollute it.

Interestingly, some of us fast and still feed our eyes with TV shows saturated with violence, profanity, lust, and all else in between. We're still scrolling endlessly through social media, consuming everything we normally would. Our body is fasting from food but our spirit is still feeding on the same things.

That won't work, friend.

Fasting is supposed to make our spirit more sensitive to God, not more exposed to spiritual pollution. It’s a season of drawing away from distractions and deliberately positioning ourselves to hear his voice more clearly.

This principle goes beyond entertainment. We can't be fasting while constantly living in offense, holding grudges, speaking harshly to others, gossiping, or refusing to forgive. God isn't impressed by an empty stomach if our heart remains full of the things he's calling us to surrender.

Some of us fast from food but don't pray. Others fast and pray but don't meditate on the Word of God. Some of us fast and read the Word but rarely spend time in prayer. Thing is, prayer, the Word, worship, repentance, and fasting—all of these work together to deepen our relationship with God and position us to receive his direction.

The real goal of fasting

The primary purpose of fasting is not to impress God but to make room for him. It's a season of intentional consecration where we quiet the noise and allow him to transform us from the inside out. As we deny our flesh, we should also be guarding our eyes, our ears, our thoughts, our words, and our hearts.

Isaiah 58 provides one of the clearest pictures of the kind of fasting God desires. The Lord rebuked his people because they were faithfully observing the outward practice while neglecting the inward transformation. Rather, he described a fast that breaks the chains of wickedness, frees the oppressed, cares for those in need, and produces lives marked by righteousness (Isa. 58:6–7). 

Psalm 51:17 reminds us that "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart—these, O God, You will not despise." A humble, repentant heart is far more pleasing to God than the most disciplined fast performed without genuine devotion.

If you realize you've been approaching fasting the wrong way—as nothing more than abstaining from food—don't be discouraged. Let that realization become an invitation to return to its true purpose. Draw near to God. Spend time in prayer. Immerse yourself in his Word. Remove the distractions that compete for your attention. Allow him to search your heart and conform you to the image of Christ.

At the end of the day, the length of the fast isn't the focus or what matters--it's how closely we walked with God in that period.

May our seasons of fasting draw us closer to God's heart and deepen our love for him!

#becomingavessel

The greatest school you'll ever attend

There's a school every believer must take heed to attend.

It doesn't have a physical campus. There are no entrance exams or tuition fees. Yet the lessons taught there have the power to transform your life forever.

It's a school unlike any other—a school that trains those who are serious about their walk with Christ. It's the school of the Holy Spirit.

Before Jesus returned to the Father, he promised that the Holy Spirit would come to teach his followers and lead them into truth: "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit... he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you." (John 14:26)

Why you should guard your eye gates

Do you realize that what you look at matters way more than most of us want to admit?

Our eyes are gates to our soul and spirit. Every single thing you let through them walks straight into our mind, heart, and spirit—and it doesn't just pass through and leave. It settles in.

Look at what Jesus said in Matthew 6:22: "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light." That means what we continually look at has an impact on us. The things we consume through our eyes influence our thoughts and eventually affect our actions.

So, friend, what have you been letting in lately?

Routine is good, but don't let it control you

When it comes to your walk with God and spiritual growth, having a routine is good. Just don't let it control you.

Because over time, routine can become a chore, and you don't want your relationship with God to become just another item on a checklist. No one enjoys chores, and no one wants to feel like a chore.

God deserves more than your routine time. He desires your heart. 

One thing with God is, he'll never force you to spend time with him. He gave us free will, after all. You have to want to. Not out of obligation, but out of love. Not because it's part of a schedule, but because his presence has become something you can't do without.