As someone who grew up in The Church of England, I have fond memories of the various seasons that form the church’s calendar; Advent leading up to Christmas and Lent before Easter being two of them. There is something quite satisfying about having a period of abstinence when you are encouraged to give up something enjoyable like chocolate or puddings, followed by Easter when you can then enjoy good food and Easter eggs even more. But is this something with spiritual merit or just another tradition remembered fondly by an ageing man?
The truth is that food itself will not bring us closer to God, nor will giving up chocolate. In 1 Corinthians Ch8 v8 Paul clearly states “Food does not bring us closer to God, we are no worse off if we do not eat and no better off if we do”. And yet Jesus at the start of his ministry went into the wilderness and fasted and prayed for forty days. In part this is what we commemorate in Lent. From his example, we clearly see that there is a benefit to a season of prayer and fasting, but it’s not about what we give up, there is more to it than that. Let me give you a few clues.
- A period of fasting can help us draw closer to God
I’m sure that a major reason why Jesus went into the wilderness was to have a time of solitude when he could be close to his heavenly father, praying and listening before he entered his public ministry. In the hurly burly of everyday life it can be difficult to take time out to listen and pray. Missing a few meals can help us create the space to tune in to God more closely and hear what He is saying to us.
- It can help us to learn Self Control.
We don’t always realise how driven we are by our own appetites. In this day and age, if we are hungry we go to the biscuit tin or if we are thirsty we look in the fridge. We have other appetites too that are easy for us to satisfy. A period of abstinence brings us face to face with the strength of these appetites. It is easy to say, “I am in control”, if you haven’t really been tested. It’s only when you go without that you learn whether you are in control of your appetites or they are in control of you! If it is the latter then we are leaving ourselves open to temptation. When Jesus had fasted for forty days Satan tempted him to turn the stones of the desert into bread, i.e. to use his God given powers for personal satisfaction. Jesus was able to resist the devil because he had learned self discipline and reliance on his Heavenly Father. We are told in Matthew’s gospel that having resisted Satan’s advances, the angels came and ministered to him (Matthew Ch4 v11). I like this thought, it sounds like they had quite a picnic!
- It can help us to Serve and Bless Others
Isaiah the prophet castigated the people of his day for the way they fasted saying, “On the day of your fasting you do as you please and exploit all your workers. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high” (Is 58 v3)
The people of Isaiah’s day were inclined to fast only out of a sense of duty and compulsion and therefore became bad tempered, taking it out on their workers. The prophet tells them that there is nothing in this behavior that would commend them to God. Indeed, Jesus in Matthew Ch6v16 says “When you fast, do not look sombre as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men that they are fasting….But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face so that it will not be obvious, and your Father will reward you”.
Isaiah goes on to say, “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen, to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke?… Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and provide the poor wanderer with shelter, when you see the naked to clothe him and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?” (Isaiah 58 : 6,7).
Here is another good reason for fasting. In his book ,“Tortured for Christ”, Richard Wurmbrandt tells of how, when he was in prison, he asked himself what he could do to demonstrate God’s love to his fellow prisoners. As a prisoner himself he had nothing to offer, so he decided to fast one day every week so he could give them his portion of food for that day. I’m sure this was a powerful demonstration of God’s love to those men.
You may feel that small gestures like giving up chocolate or a meal don’t add up to much, but as we know from the Bible, God is able to multiply what we offer him many times over. In the early days, the work of Brother Andrew and Open Doors was funded by the money he saved by giving up smoking. Simply giving up something on its own has little or no merit in spiritual terms, but if we use what we have saved to bless others, we can be sure that this will be a blessing to us as well!
It is important to say that the season of Lent is very much a Church of England (or possibly a Roman Catholic) tradition, but the principles it represents can have great merit, not least in helping us draw closer to the Lord and in helping us to serve others.
I’d like to encourage you with a few more verses from Isaiah 58 which for me embody some of the reasons why it is worth taking the time to observe this period of Lent as you feel led:
“If you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will shine in the darkness and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always, he will satisfy your needs in a sun scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail”. (Isaiah 58:10,11)