Day 3

So, I was raised a Catholic. Maybe that's why I've always been hesitant about fasting. Lent never made a whole lot of sense to me, probably because it's true purpose has been lost or distorted, or at the very least it never got through my thick skull. So why do we fast?

Matthew 4:1-3 - 1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

Man there is a lot to unpack in that before we even get to Jesus' answer. As the title for today's devotional for the DE goes: Jesus: Our Example.

Fasting is an incredibly humbling experience. Being on day three, I'm beginning to recognize that this is not going to be as easy as I may have led myself to believe. Jesus was and is the perfect example of humility.

Phil 2:5-8 - 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

Wow. He humbled himself to come down from heaven, take on human flesh and die in the most painful and don't forget embarrassing way imaginable. Going back to Matthew 4:2 "he was hungry." Really? Ya think? 40 days without food, in the desert. I'd need at least some crackers and a juice box. The devil, knowing Jesus' power tells him to simply turn the rocks into bread. Why doesn't Jesus?

Matthew 4:4 - 4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Jesus' answer is a heavy one. He is saying much more than just that God's word is everything, he is saying that he has humbled himself, and will not break his fast. He will continue to suffer until his fast is over, and will not succumb to the temptation.

Satan eventually leaves Jesus, but not before tempting him two more times with even greater challenges. Then in Matthew 4:11 it says that Jesus was attended to by angels. The concept of angels is one that is tough to grasp. My head hurts just thinking about it. But I have to admit, I love the idea of God rewarding my trust in his will by having his angels care for me, and I know that in times when I have fasted from food I have felt hunger, and other times I have felt inexplicable fullness, for lack of a better word.

With fasting comes a number of challenges, not the least of which is remembering which things to fast from. But there is a small joy in my heart in the victory of remembering not to do something because it reminds me of why I am doing this.

The devotional guide asks "Jesus was willing to be rejected and misunderstood by men for the sake of redemption. Are we willing to do the same?" Jesus tells us to "Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations," but no one said it would be easy. We will be misunderstood at every turn in our life, and during these 21 days, but I pray that those of us in this experiment, and all of us for that matter, will remember the following.

1 Peter 3:15-18 - 15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17 For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.

I have hope, and I know it will grow as these days go by.