Fasting...Feeding....and Freezing...

Recently, our church body was challenged to a 3-day fast. It was our effort made to do without and appreciate the provisions the Lord blesses us with. It was also a time to reflect upon our dependency on the Lord in all areas of our life. I have never managed to successfully fast past 24 hours and I did make it 30 hours until the spirit was broken. Fasting with a huge bag of trick-0-treat candy sitting around the house followed by a trip to the grocery store was especially difficult on a hungry, empty stomach. I managed to stick to my essentials list and spent the rest of the time collecting food items for the KCM Food Drive. That helped to keep my mind off of the chips, cookies and other tempting sweets beckoning me. For isn't it just like the sweetness of sin that is dangerous? Like the desert, though it is a “scorched place” it does have some beautiful, flowering cacti in its barren environment, but it is also home to the most venomous snakes on earth. For isn’t it just like Satan to tempt us by offering us our greatest joys and vices? [James 1:14, "Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed."]

This Thanksgiving holiday, our family had the opportunity to experience a different kind of physical deprivation-SHELTER. We spent 2 days and nights camping outside in a screened in enclosure while the temperatures dropped to the low 30's F. The wind howled through the so-called enclosure as we attempted to make do with what provisions we had for warmth at night. During the day, we hiked to keep warm in-between the organized activities and would occasionally find ourselves dropping by the dining hall to warm ourselves by the fire. Some meals, due to the crowd, we found ourselves dining outside, only to return to a cold, unprotected shelter. BUT, were we ever truly unprotected? This time of fasting and freezing has demonstrated for me how easy it is to indulge the desires of our flesh rather than resting solely upon the power of the Lord and the strength only the Holy Spirit can provide. Just as the body is dependent upon organic food for physical health and strength, so are we dependent upon spiritual food for spiritual strength. This has been a good lesson in spiritual vigilance and a warning of the dangers that are lurking when I become complacent in my spiritual walk.

In Christ, everything we need is stored up for those who have accepted His grace. This is all we need and all we should expect. We need to value everything the Lord has provided us. We should not crave a bigger house, a better paying job or better behaved children :) We should be grateful for that which the Lord has provided us. Charles Spurgeon so eloquently wrote a century ago.." We cannot eat, drink, or wear more than the day's supply of food and clothing; the surplus gives us the care of storing it and the anxiety of watching against a thief. One staff aids a traveler, but a bundle of staffs is a heavy burden. Enough is not only as good as a feast, but is all that the greatest glutton can truly enjoy. This is all that we should expect; a craving for more than this is ungrateful. When our Father does not give us more, we should be content with His daily allowance. "

During this post-Thanksgiving season, lest us enjoy our daily allowance. We can never truly go hungry while the daily bread of grace is on the table of mercy.

Love and blessings on the journey together!
Kathy