Catching the Overflow Matthew 12:33–out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks

Finally, I can speak again.  Not that I couldn’t before, but I was pre-occupied.  Together with my coworkers at LifeChurch.tv, I have been fasting–for 21 days.  Not a full fast where you eat nothing, but I ate NO sweets, breads, soda, coffee; basically I just ate fruit, veggies, whole grains, nuts, eggs and a smattering of chicken and fish for 21 days.    Sort of a Daniel Fast, except I ate some meat.

If you don’t combine the fast with increased time in God’s word and in prayer, then it’s nothing more than a diet.  and while I’d love to lose 5 to 10 pounds, weight loss was not my motivation.  I could not have stuck it out, if it had been either.

The sacrifice is honoring to God.  It’s an act of obedience.  It can be a pathway to freedom.  It can be a way to a deeper, more intimate relationship with God.  In short, it’s an act of worship.

When I started, I didn’t have a true understanding about what fasting is.  If I’m honest, my understanding has only increased a little bit.  I read a book about fasting, a lot of scripture about different people in the bible who fasted, and prayed about it a lot in an attempt to figure out what I was doing.

Clarity, wisdom, deeper understanding, discipline, peace, joy.  These are just a few of the things I gained, by giving up that “junk” for 3 weeks.  And the way I understand it, the blessings will continue even after I’m done.  I’m looking forward to a great Twenty Ten!  Answered prayers, greater wisdom and understanding, and an unwavering confidence in my Redeemer are mine, so sayth the Lord!

Now, I’m gonna go eat some chocolate.