455. Food Challenge

One thing I’ve noticed as I’ve gotten older is that food affects my weight much more than it did before. When I was in my 20s, I struggled to gain weight. I tried eating something heavy and going straight to sleep, just to add a few more pounds. And yet, I would wake up with lower body weight. But once I hit 40, I realized my metabolism had changed, and I had to start watching what I eat and keep an exercise routine just to maintain my weight.

But when Christmas comes around, there are plenty of snacks on our counter, and many of them are gifts or leftovers from the house church. I don’t eat many snacks, but adding just one or two a day seems to impact my weight in the wrong direction. It only gets harder to lose weight, and it sometimes stresses me out.

That’s why, when the Daniel Fast comes around, though I dread having to cut some of my favourite foods, I also get excited because I have the opportunity to return to my optimal weight and reset my body.

Fasting is ultimately about food because food is so essential to human survival. Even though the media feels like an absolute necessity these days, our lives are not endangered by fasting from it. But limiting food choices in our lives pains us so deeply because much of our life enjoyment comes from the food we love. But that’s also the precise reason why fasting helps prayer, because prayer is relying on God for our survival and enjoyment, instead of food.

I am glad that many of our members participate in the Daniel Fast every year, in varying capacities. Many people participate doing “Media Fast”. But I would like to encourage our members to consider doing a “Full fast” once in a while. If that is too much, then “Fast only during Passion week” is a great option too. A media fast is very helpful in carving out time to spend with God, but abstaining from certain foods is what challenges us the most and stirs up a real hunger for God.

I know that doing a full fast every year can be unrealistic for some. But if you have always been doing media fast or automatically assume you can only do media fast, consider changing things up once in a while to challenge yourself. Just like anything meaningful in life, it must feel challenging enough to produce growth.