There’s Gold and Then There’s Pure Gold: Fasting to Become Healthy

“The Web is an unhealthy place for someone hungry for attention.”

— The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms (Incerto Book 4) by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

I know a man who went on an extended water-only fast.  When he started he was in poor health and his eyesight was deteriorating to the point that he was in danger of losing his job.

While his fast was motivated by spiritual concerns, at the end of the fast his eyesight had been restored and he was able to stop taking several prescriptions due to the drastic improvement in his overall health.

Was it a miracle?

Sorta of.  It was the miracle of tapping into the amazing healing power our Body-Built-by-God has when we give it a chance.  His fasting had allowed his body to literally burn away the dross in his body freeing up energy for his body to cleanse and heal itself. 

Is this not the fast I have chosen…then your light shall break forth like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily…

Isaiah 58:5,8

This principle works emotionally and spiritually as well.

Fasting is definitely about giving up food for a season, but it can be so much more.

The things we feed on mentally and spiritually also have a huge impact on our lives—for good or bad. 

So what about you, what are you consuming that is consuming you?  What is it that is wasting your time (life), adding emotional stress, taking you down mental paths that are not healthy and edifying? 

Even good things can be overdone.

During this season of fasting, what do you need to fast in order to cleanse your mind, settle your emotions, and get your focus back on that which is true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy? (Philippians 4:8)

There’s a lot of spiritual and emotional junk food splashing around out there vying for our time and attention.  There is far more noise than news and most of the news is way above our pay grade.  Why not fast?  Why not let your fast be a Dome of Silence over your life for a season.

Let the absence of all the junk food give your soul and mind a chance to cleanse itself. 

Remember the words of Jesus: Blessed are the pure in heart for they are the ones who will see God.  (Matthew 5:8)

Dear friend, there’s gold and then there’s pure gold.  It’s the cleansing that makes the difference.

Prayer: Father God, I will never lose my hunger for you made me that way.  But I can train my hunger by depriving it of the harmful and instead feast on the healthful.  Please help me during this season of fasting to hunger and thirst for righteousness that I may truly experience fullness.

Photo by Lucas Santos on Unsplash