Becoming Like Jesus: Fasting and AbstinenceSample

Another Wilderness

Yesterday, we went all the way back to the beginning of the Bible. We saw the devil, in the form of a serpent, use the same tactics against Adam and Eve that he used against Jesus: attacking their identity and targeting their desires with lies and deception. Today, we are going to look at another group of people who were also tested in the wilderness.

Let’s dive in.

Pray…

Our Father, you love me more than I can even begin to wrap my mind around. You are gracious, kind, and trustworthy. Help me to trust you. Sometimes, I get distracted and lose focus on what matters most. When that happens, give me the strength to come back to you. I want my whole life to be devoted to you, and not my own selfish desires. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Read…

Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors. Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord . Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you. Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to him and revering him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills… Deuteronomy 8:1-7 NIV

Consider…

These words are spoken by Moses to the people of Israel. They are preparing to enter into the Promised Land after wandering the wilderness for forty years, walking across the sea on dry ground, and being rescued from slavery in Egypt.

During those wilderness years, the Israelites were faced with three tests. One involving food, and the other two involving water. Each time, the Israelites were forced to choose between trusting God’s character and obeying His commands or doubting He would provide for them and doing what they thought would keep them safe. All three times they were tested, they failed.

Are you noticing any similarities in this story to another story we’ve been reading about? Forty years in the wilderness. Three tests. Do they choose to trust Him and obey His commands or doubt Him and obey their desires?

Hopefully, you’re thinking about Jesus’ time in the wilderness where He was tempted by the devil, because these similarities are no accident.

Just like God showed up to rescue His people from slavery in Egypt, Jesus came to rescue us from our slavery to sin. Just like God split the waters of the Red Sea for the Israelites, God split the heavens when Jesus was baptized in the waters of the Jordan River. Just like the Israelites were tested three times in the wilderness during their forty years of wandering, Jesus was tempted three times in the wilderness during His forty days of fasting.

Hopefully, you’re also noticing the biggest difference between these stories. Where the people of Israel failed, Jesus succeeded. And as His followers, who have been filled by the Holy Spirit, we can too.

When we engage in the disciplines of fasting and abstinence, we are following the example of Jesus and, empowered by the Spirit, training ourselves to deny our sinful desires by denying our desires for food and other things.

Last little tidbit: The three Scriptures Jesus quoted when He was being tempted by the devil can all be found in Deuteronomy 6 and Deuteronomy 8.

Have you ever felt like you’ll never be able to overcome your desires? Be honest. How does it make you feel knowing that the people of Israel also failed when they were tested? How does it make you feel knowing that where we fall short, Jesus is victorious?

Practice…

Keep going strong with your fasting and abstinence! You’re almost a whole week into this thing. Take a moment to reflect on the times where you’ve been tempted to break your fast, but you stuck with it.

When you start to feel hungry or find yourself craving the thing you’re abstaining from, redirect your attention back to God. Ask Him to help you resist those desires by praying, “Lord, give me the strength to say no to my desires. Help me to focus on you. Make me more like Jesus.”

Listen…

Set a timer for 5-10 minutes. Next, ask God to speak to you. When you get distracted, bring your focus back to God by repeating this short prayer:

(Breathe in) Lord Jesus, (Breathe out) Have mercy on me.

(Breathe in) Heavenly Father, (Breathe out) Speak to me.

(Breathe in) Holy Spirit, (Breathe out) Guide me.

When the timer ends, thank God for the time you got to spend with Him, then head into your day looking for opportunities to serve Him and serve others.