The Discipline of Fasting
(John 4:27-38 NLT)
Fasting Feels Foreign for a Reason
Fasting can feel strange, uncomfortable, and even unnecessary in a culture built around constant consumption. It has also carried a complicated reputation because of unhealthy extremes and misunderstandings from the past. For many, fasting sounds like punishment rather than formation. But the spiritual disciplines are not meant to crush us. They are meant to free us for joyful obedience. Worship turns our attention to God. Prayer draws us into communion with God. Fasting trains our desires before God. When practiced properly, fasting is not about looking miserable or proving spiritual strength. It is a hidden act of surrender before the Father who sees in private.
Philippians 4 brings The Pursuit of Joy to a fitting close by showing us the gift that keeps on giving: Christ’s strength. Paul says he has learned how to be content in every situation, whether with little or with much, hungry or full, in abundance or in need. His famous words, “I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength,” are not a promise that we can accomplish whatever we want. They are a testimony that Christ gives the strength to remain content, faithful, and steady in every circumstance. Contentment is a cousin of joy, and both are byproducts of the strength of Christ.
The Discipline That Confronts Desire
Fasting presses into one of the places we often resist most: appetite. We live in a world that teaches us to satisfy every desire as quickly as possible. But fasting interrupts that pattern. It teaches the body and soul that every craving does not have to become a command. This does not mean the body is bad or that hunger is holy by itself. It means fasting creates space for our desires to be reordered. It is one way we learn self-control, slow down distraction, and become more aware of what has been ruling our attention. Fasting helps expose what we reach for when we are tired, anxious, angry, or restless.
A Kind of Food We Know Nothing About
In John 4, the disciples urge Jesus to eat, but He tells them He has a kind of food they know nothing about. His nourishment comes from doing the will of the Father and finishing His work. While the disciples are thinking about physical food, Jesus points them to a deeper source of strength and satisfaction. The fields are already ripe for harvest, and the fruit of that harvest is people brought to eternal life. Fasting reminds us that there is a kind of nourishment deeper than immediate appetite. Obedience, mission, and communion with the Father feed the soul in ways the world cannot understand.
Fasting Destroys Distraction
Fasting may not be presented as a direct command in the notes, but when practiced properly it can destroy distraction. Like Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus while Martha is worried and upset by many things, fasting helps us return to what is better. It clears space to hear, obey, and remain present with God. This final week of A Peek Into the Disciplines reminds us that the goal is not discipline for discipline’s sake. The goal is life with God. Fasting teaches desire to bow, distraction to quiet down, and the soul to receive what only the Father can give.
— Jordan Brown
Pastor (Ministries and Outreach) [OV] Church