Giving Up to Get Back - Why We Should ‘Fast’
It seems like we all feel plagued by something these days. Whether it’s a personal problem, obsessive behavior, guilt, or shame from our misdeeds—we always have something on our minds that holds us back from our full potential. We dwell on these things, thinking about every possible solution to them, but instead of acting on them, we just spend too much time in our heads.
When these thoughts become overwhelming, and our worldview or relationships begin to collapse, there is a way to bring ourselves back. From our darkest moments, we can grow into strong, brave, and determined people. But we certainly can’t do it alone.
“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;” Joel 2:12
Joel is a fascinating book of the Bible; falling in with the twelve minor prophets, he describes and predicts the fall of the Israelites to a plague of locusts (not to be confused with the locusts in the Ten Plagues of Exodus).
In old times, without things like pest control and bug spray, plagues of insects could very easily wipe out an entire nation’s food security—destroying crops and plants needed for livestock. While the ancient nation of Israel is heavily damaged and almost wiped out by this invasion, the citizens choose to turn to God for protection and support; repenting to him by praying and fasting.
In return, God restores their crops, sends rain, and kills the locusts that terrorized their land.
While this kind of Bible story initially appears to have no real impact on our modern-day lives, there is always allegory or advice we can take away from these ancient texts.
We probably don’t feel particularly threatened by insect plagues nowadays, especially after living through a global pandemic. But we do have more access—and encouragement—to participate in behaviors that bring us away from God; our thoughts and actions can inflict negative consequences on ourselves and others.
Some things are bad, but they come easy; with the gratification that makes us feel like we’re doing the right thing for ourselves, even when we know it could raise problems in the long run. But when things like substance abuse, romantic or sexual obsessions, gossip, and inconsideration of others go past being momentary satisfaction and become habitual, we end up stuck in a cycle of immediate gratification followed by an empty, hollow existence.
When we feel like we’ve truly hit rock bottom, we can’t dig ourselves out of the hole we’re in, dare I even say we’re plagued with our bad behaviors and their consequences—Joel reminds us of what will make us truly happy: repenting to the Lord.
This is when the concept of fasting comes in. We normally consider fasting to just be abstaining from food; which, while that is an effective, traditional way of showing our devotion to God, there are so many more things you can give up to find peace in Him.
So, when God says to return to him, even with broken hearts, sobbing our eyes out, and feeling completely hopeless, it is because He plans to restore us. He wants us to give up the bad behaviors that have led to this dire situation, and build us from the ground up with His morals and strength.
To truly find our identities in God, we must be willing to give things up. Things we’ve spent a lot of time doing, that we’ve spent money, time, or effort on- if they do not work to please us and our Lord, they are not worth that energy.
In the process of shaping our Holy lives, we cannot stay attached to worldly things. Sure, money and relationships are bare essentials for living nowadays, but our view on them is equally important. We need to understand that they are man-made in essence and treat them the way that God would wish us to.
When we give up something we have held onto for a long time, it can be incredibly difficult to live normally. But this is where we strip our souls bare, we rebuild our lives in God’s name, with new ideas based on His word and others’ lived experiences. Whether it’s something we have to give up, like alcohol, smoking, irresponsible behavior, etc, or something we choose to give up to better ourselves, like gossip or rudeness, this concept of a fast gives us a blank slate to fill with better things.
Next time you have to give something up, remember why you’re doing it. If you’re dependent on it to be happy, that’s your answer. We should remain dependent on the Lord, as he gives us more strength and happiness than any bad behavior ever could. Plus, no terrible consequences in the long run!
If you can’t think of anything obvious to give up, trying a traditional food fast could be beneficial too. In the absence of something worldly, we make space for the Holy. And the more we invite it into our heads and hearts, the more ultimately satisfied we will be.