To Thirst For God

Do you know the famous story of David and Bathsheba, in 2^nd Samuel 12?  David murdered her husband, Uriah,  so that he could take her and his wife. The prophet Nathan confronted David about this terrible sin and David repented, however, God told him that as a consequence, the child that Bathsheba was going to have would die. In response to this, David pleads with the Lord, prays, fasts, and is deaf to all pleas to eat some food.  David had only one thing on his mind, imploring God for the life of his child. The hunger for that was so deep that all other hungers paled in comparison.

You see, the thing he was looking for could not be found in this world and his hunger for it was so powerful it overshadowed all other “hungers.”  This gives us a glimpse into the rationale behind the discipline of fasting. Now, of course, David’s circumstances were extreme. He was driven to fast for a very specific and profound need. But considering, who David was and his well-documented passion for God (despite his very human failings,), I would wager that David was accustomed to this kind of prayer and fasting.

Food is great, I love food, I especially love the pleasure of good food, in fact, I believe that it is the ability to enjoy food is one of God’s many creative gifts to us. However, food, along with other pleasures in this world can often become so central to our lives that they distract from our hunger for the things outside of this world. Many of us may have no problem with fasting when we have a serious problem or a pressing need. However, when our lives are going well, it is much more difficult to develop the discipline of fasting.

C.S Lewis in Mere Christianity suggests, “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.”  As Christians, we know this to be true, we were made for a world beyond this one. It is therefore important that every so often we tune out the hunger of this world and focus on God. When you fast, when you forego a pleasure of the body, whether it is food, entertainment, drink, or anything else, it should be because you desire to fill a deeper hunger that cannot be satisfied in this world.  To seek God and commune with Him and experience the riches of His kingdom in a more profound way. To train your body and your senses to be awake to God even as we live on this earth.

The spiritual discipline of fasting shows that we understand that there is so much more than just the physical and that we will not let our bodily hungers and desires get in the way of experiencing the depth of the riches of God’s grace.