The 40-Day Mirror Fast: Focusing Your Eyes on Jesus and Off Your Appearanceნიმუში

What Can a Mirror Fast Do?

“What good will it do to not look in the mirror? I already know what I look like, and that knowledge alone is enough to keep me stuck.”

One client for whom I recommended a mirror fast pushed back with this sentiment. I couldn’t help but think of that verse in James. It reads, “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.”

Honestly, I wish I could look in the mirror and forget what I see. That sounds ideal to those of us with body image issues. But that’s not what this verse is about. Instead, James makes it clear that to hear or read God’s word and then not obey God’s word is futile. The Bible is to be the mirror of our lives. We are to check our reflection in the truth of scripture.

That’s why a mirror fast can be a beneficial part of your spiritual growth. Are you checking how you’re “doing” in life by what you see reflected in the mirror? Or are you examining yourself against the Word of God?

Wow! It’s much easier for me to create a list of ways I’d like to improve my appearance than it is for me to sit and think of ways I should grow in Christ-likeness.

By taking my eyes off the mirror for 40 days, I can re-orient my gaze at who I’m supposed to reflect: Jesus.