The Power of Hunger

     Fasting is a spiritual discipline which many people seem to overlook. It gets associated far too often with a legalistic way of living. The truth of the matter is that it can be a wonderful gift to Christians. In fact it is clear from the Bible that Christ not only practiced this discipline but anticipated that His followers would as well. Fasting is to abstain from something; for the most part it is linked with abstaining from food. When it comes to fasting from food you can do a partial fast where you are allowed to drink fresh fruit juice or you can do a normal fast where you can only drink water.

     The purpose of fasting in Christianity is so that you may first and foremost have your heart lifted to God in prayer and praise throughout the day without the distraction of food. We need to let our hunger be a reminder to pray or dwell on God. Another great thing that comes from fasting is that it is a reminder of not only the blessings you have had in order to have food on a daily basis but also to think about those people who are not eating and it is not by choice. To think of children and adults who are feeling those same pangs of hunger but do not know if they will have a next meal or where it will come from.

     As we fast we learn to control our stomachs instead of being controlled by our hunger. “In many ways the stomach is like a spoiled child, and a spoiled child does not need indulgence, but needs discipline” (Foster, Celebration Of Discipline, 57) I feel that gluttony, one of the seven deadly sins, is very much overlooked and ignored in our culture. We feel that we should eat when we feel hungry, but when we eat every time we feel hungry or crave something we are practicing gluttony. We should eat what is necessary to be healthy but any more than that is very selfish. To think that there are people going hungry and yet we feel no qualms about not only eating three meals a day but snacking in between. This is truly eye opening.

     I decided that this week I would do a normal fast for a full 24-hour day. From 12 am one day till 12 am the next only drinking sips of water when I absolutely need to. My intention was to send small little prayers up to God no matter where I was, as soon as I got a hunger pang. I decided to also take the time to sit and pray during the time I usually eat lunch at school and then at home during my usual dinner-time.

     Today was the lucky day, and just in case you wondered… I am not being sarcastic. Currently I am an hour and a half away from completing my fast. I believed that it would be more powerful to write this blog while I was still in the midst of my fasting and yet towards the end so that I could write about most of my day. Right now my stomach is not overly happy with me, I feel week and slightly dizzy when I stand up, and I have had a headache for the second half of the day.

     I woke up this morning and got ready as usual, however I reminded myself not to bring breakfast with me to school because I was going to fast today. I arrived in class and immediately noticed the student in front of me enjoying a pop tart… my favorite kind of pop tart… I tried to ignore this fact at first but then embraced it as a reminder to myself that I was fasting and that I was not going to hide from food but instead fight the urge to eat myself.

     I found that the closer it came to lunch time the more I noticed my stomach and the hunger pains that were increasing with time. When it came time for lunch I was approached by friend whom I do not get the chance to speak to often and simply could not bring myself to push her aside in order to do my planned prayer for this time. Instead I sat there with my friend and continued to send small prayers up to heaven when the pain got stronger. I then had to journey by the cafeteria to get something and it was pure torture. The food smelled so incredibly good! I managed to get what I needed and then head to my next class. When I arrived in class there were other students who had brought lunch in with them. I did not realize just how often I am surrounded by food!

     I kept momentarily forgetting that I was not supposed to eat, that I was fasting, because I would see some sort of food or restaurant and my hunger was so present that my first thought was oh I should eat that! Then in the next second I would realize wait… no I’m not supposed to eat anything, I’m fasting, I’m supposed to be feeling hungry.

     Once I was home and it was dinner-time I was able to take some time to sit and read my Bible. A verse that stuck out was Hebrews 2:18 “Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” I smiled the moment I read this verse because it fit in so perfectly with what I had been dealing with all day. So many times I had been so very tempted to eat something because my stomach is screaming out for food, I’m still so very tempted. Yet, then I am reminded that I am doing this for good reasons, the world doesn't revolve around me or what I feel like I need at any moment.

     As I sit here with not much longer to go I can’t help but contemplate on how lucky I am. My mouth is dry, I can feel pain from my throat down to my achy stomach, I have a throbbing headache, I have the horrible taste from some acid reflux from about half an hour ago still in my mouth…. Yet I feel so blessed! Why? Because this was my choice! I know that as soon as this time is up I have food in my pantry and in my fridge that I can eat. There are people out there who have these same symptoms and there is nothing they can do about it, in fact there are many, many people who are far hungrier than I am right now. The reason I am so very hungry and why my body is reacting this way is because I have had the opportunity to try new foods and have large meals the past few days and so my stomach was being spoiled and then I just pulled the plug. The reason others are feeling this pain or far worse pain due to hunger is because they have not eaten in days, or weeks, maybe even months! This pulls at my heart strings and makes me feel so guilty that I so often take food for granted.

     The next time I fast I will try to make it longer than a day, I also plan to figure out how much money I saved and donate the money or that amount of food to a food pantry or some organization that is focused on feeding people. Maybe I can even convince people at school to fast with me and make it a community event where we encourage each other throughout the day or days, pray together for those who are in need, praise God for his blessings and his provisions in our own lives, and all work together to send money to those who are truly hungry.