This past January I took part in the Daniel Fast for 21 days. I was opened up to so much spiritually. So when Lent came around I decided to go the full mile and set forth to do the Daniel Fast for 40 days. Let me tell you, that. was. hard. It was incredibly difficult to not grow jealous of my family for eating our favorite foods. I didn’t mind if I was out with friends but I think one of the hardest parts was holding the pizza boxes on my lap in the car for my family. But the scripture that continually ran through my head that looooong ride home was “Count it all joy my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds. For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have it’s full effect that you may be perfect and complete.” And you know what? I survived.
One morning I was stumbling through the kitchen looking for something to eat for breakfast. Anything in the fridge? Nope. Anything in the pantry? Nope. Oh, look, leftover pizza. *scoff*.
“Mom, is everything tasting bland to you?” says my oldest.
“Yeah, it’s just that I’ve been eating the same thing for almost 40 days, I’m kinda bored of it.”
And right then I felt like an Israelite. How selfish I was being! I had plenty to eat. No it wasn’t my favorite, but the Lord had provided food for me. Another lesson learned.
When passover came my family chose to hold a seder feast. We prepared lamb, potatoes, carrots, haroset, chocolate cake and help communion. It was beautiful! Better than any holiday I had ever celebrated! And you know what? I ate. And I ate happily not because of the food but because of why we were feasting. We taught our family about our heritage in slavery. We taught about the hope in Christ, our passover lamb. I enjoyed the meal because of the meaning, but I didn’t go crazy over the taste of the food. It was pleasant, but the next day came and I was back on the fast. And what I’ve learned through all of this is that there is nothing, absolutely nothing, sweeter than God’s grace. No amount of honey, no amount of lamb, no amount of chocolate can satisfy my craving for love and forgiveness like the touch of God on my life.
May I encourage you to feast on His word today? And every day. He will fill you up with living water!
Blessings!
