Fasting, Day 7

I’m back to eating normal foods again! Although it’s great to be eating again, I realize that food doesn’t satisfy as much as my mind made me to believe when I was fasting. There’s a slight shallowness in the satisfaction of eating.

As I end this fast, one question lingers: Did I fail at fasting? That depends on how you look at it. When I set out to do this water fast, I intended to fast after the initial hunger pains subsided all the way until “true hunger” manifested itself. For many people, that’s around 40 days. I was expecting that to happen for me at about 25 days, because of my low weight and body type. That didn’t happen–I didn’t make it that far. So from that angle, I failed.

But I don’t see this as a failure. I see it as a learning experience and a time of growth. I also think that anytime we attempt to do anything to draw us closer to God, it’s never a failure. God has already done some great things in my heart. I think this idea of failure is why people are afraid to try anything–why we keep it safe. And it’s why people in ministry put so much pressure on themselves to over-perform.

After all, I don’t want to become a pastor of a church, only to have the attendance dwindle in size after a year–I want it to grow! But can we look at it from another angle? Maybe the true measure of success is if we give it our all to God. If we follow Him where He leads–even if that means less people are onboard. Let’s not judge whether what we do is or isn’t a success until we stand before God on that day.

Would He say that I failed in this fast? If you were to die on February 9th, what would He say about your life during those first 40 days of the year? Let’s live with THAT in mind!