We are all here to continue talking about some
spiritual practices, some of those habits, those
things that we can do as we continue to follow
in the way of Jesus. And today we're talking
about the spiritual practice of fasting. And
fasting is, I think, a particularly interesting
practice because it's hard. It's something that's
really challenging that people don't really like
to do. But it also... Like sometimes it's not
super obvious, like why, why you would do it.
Like what, what is the benefit of being hungry?
Right. And how does that actually help us grow
in our spiritual life? So hopefully we can unpack
that a little bit in our conversation today.
But first, before we get into that, what is the
spiritual practice of fasting? Like if you were
to give a sort of basic definition, what, what
would you say that it is? Hugh? Well, I would
say that it's a temporary off -period abstaining
from food and sometimes even water. But by temporary,
I mean it could be for a couple of hours, it
could be a morning, it could be for a day. Some
people have fasted for a week, whereas Jesus
fasted for 40 days. So there are different kinds
of fast, different kinds of periods of fast.
Okay, yeah, but it's that temporary period going
with the food. Temporary period, yes. Yeah, that's
a really sort of basic, clear definition. What
would you add to that, Elizabeth? To me, the
spiritual practice of fasting is the willingness.
Temporary refraining from food or other necessities
like social media or other technologies in order
to focus on God cultivates self -discipline and
deepening in prayer, meditation, and scripture
reading. Right. It acts as a physical expression
of spiritual hunger. promoting humility, repentance,
depending or trusting in God. Okay. Yeah, so
there's a couple of things that you've sort of
added in there. So one is that you're not just
going without food, that you're adding some sort
of a spiritual practice into that. So you're
adding in prayer, you're adding in worship, a
focus on God, scripture reading, and that sort
of thing. And then the other piece is that fasting
like most specifically and technically is about
food. Usually that's the sort of traditional
understanding, but we can practice other kinds
of like abstinence that, that sometimes people
would call fasting. Right. So, you know, saying,
okay, I'm going to give up social media for a
week or for a month or however long, I'm just
not going to do that today. Or I'm going to give
up, you know, TV or give up. shopping or give
up i don't know whatever whatever kind of habit
the thing that fills your days that is maybe
not necessarily productive yeah um yeah okay
um yeah what about for you amav when you think
about like what is fasting uh well when i think
of fasting i think of it from the muslim perspective
um again i was born and raised in to islam and
muslim fasting is one of the five pillars of
islam it's one of those things where Any able
Muslim is supposed to fast. And there is a big
component of it, which is on the lack of food
and water. Basically, you have to finish eating
and drinking an hour before sunrise, and then
you can break your fast at sunset, at the sunset
prayers. Okay. There probably is a spiritual
component aside from... uh, empathy with those
who don't have food and, and like, and like being
humble and all that. I'm sure there's other sort
of like spiritual things, but I mean, I don't
even remember if I was ever told that I didn't
have an interest in that. I don't have any, any
more not being Muslim, but, uh, you know, it's
sort of, uh, You know, a lot of the things, it
sort of ended up being, well, you know, this
is what the Prophet Muhammad did, this is what
we have to do. Right, so it was like an instruction,
a thing that you were supposed to do as sort
of part of the faith and part of like emulating
your spiritual leaders and that sort of a thing.
Yes, and from what I'm understanding is that
Christian fasting is... is optional it's not
something you have to do right and it can be
done at any time sure this with muslim fasting
it's always the month in the month of ramadan
which uh which uh has already ended a couple
days ago right uh and you know and that's again,
whenever you list the month of Ramadan, that's
when all Muslims are supposed to be fasting.
Right. Yeah. So I think that there, there are
some similarities. So you talked about like empathy.
You talked about, you know, maybe there's a spiritual
focus on humility. Like, like Elizabeth talked
about, there is a sense of emulating like Jesus
fasted. And so maybe that's one of the reasons
that Christians fast as well as to emulate Christ.
So there's some connection, but I think you also
pointed out there are some intentional and important
differences. Right. So as you said, sort of,
Christian fasting is often viewed as optional
and we can debate the extent to which it's optional
or, you know, Jesus says when you fast. So is
Jesus sort of expecting that of us? But regardless
of all of the whether or not this is necessary,
why would we do it? Why? What's the point of
not eating and making yourself hungry? Yeah.
What? Why? Why would we do that? Yeah. The reason
why we do it, because Jesus fasted 40 days and
40 nights. And also, you know, we do, Christian
does it in order to be humble, to focus more
on God, you know, to, like I said before, to
pray, meditate, and to read the word of God.
Right. That word, we can't just read the word
of God alone. We have to read it and apply it
into our daily life. Okay, so how do you think
that fasting helps you to do that? Fasting helps
me to stay humble and to be more focused. Okay,
because you're not distracted by preparing food.
Yeah. Okay. pleasure you know okay okay okay
so it helped me to focus more on god sure to
think of you know spiritual things yeah not of
the worldly things sure yeah yeah yeah because
uh in the bible it says uh we are in this world
yeah but we are not of the world right so we
have to separate ourselves you know from It's
kind of, you know, the way worldly people does
things, even the mode of dress, you know, all
those things. We have to dress modestly and all
that. Yeah. Okay. So it's partly a way of sort
of recognizing that. Not everything that my body
wants is actually good for me. Not everything
that I feel drawn towards is good. And food is
not bad, obviously. But yeah, it is that way
of saying, I am more than my body. I am an embodied
person, and that is super important. But I am
more than my body, and I need to focus on the
spiritual things. It's sort of a way of training
yourself to do that. Yeah, okay. What would you
say, Hugh? Why fast? Well, I think there are
many reasons why we need to fast. But one is
to create a space for God in our lives. And,
you know, Jesus said, man does not live by bread
alone. And so we need to create a space where
we're hungry for God. And by leaving the food
out of it, we leave out another distraction out
of our lives. And it's another way of focusing
on God. And so that's that's one reason to do
it. Other reasons would be when you have an important
decision to make discernment. When you fast,
you really you really you're on your knees and
you're saying, Jesus. I don't want any distractions.
I want just to focus on you so that I can get
your guidance and I can get your next steps on
this decision. So that's another way that people
fast. And it shows really a more total dependence
on God when you fast because you've left everything
of the world because food is so much a part of.
what we consider the world sure so when food
is gone then then we really um we're really saying
god i'm really totally dependent on you and yeah
what you know yeah yeah yeah for sure yeah i
think it's interesting because when we think
about we think about food as a distraction. I
think the immediate like sort of counter argument
that comes into my mind is like, well, then won't
I just be distracted by being hungry? Right.
And if I'm just focused on being hungry all of
the time, like, is that actually less of a distraction?
But yeah, I don't know. In your experience, like
has hunger been a distraction in your practices
of fasting or has it been something that. you
sort of work through like i don't know it can
be what yeah it can be it's uh i mean even like
with muslim fasting you know you're dealing with
you know hunger thirst headache tiredness weakness
all that kind of stuff but i think what connects
both islam and christianity in that fasting practice
is it's mind over matter it's pushing through
these bodily feelings and and things that are
going on you know and i mean i think part of
it is you know is also like that's where you
really have to focus on god because i mean it
was jesus was tempted during those 40 days by
the devil it wasn't jesus didn't have a full
belly of food and drink and he was all relaxed
no he was he was fighting through all of his
uh you know, the fasting and then, and it was
there that he was tempted. Sure. You know, in
a week in probably in a physically weakened state.
Sure. You know? So I think we have to sort of
like, I think it's a way for, I guess in a Christian
perspective, it would be a way to really, you
know, it's either going to strengthen us or we're
going to give in. Right. And we have to be strengthened,
not given. Sure. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it's for me,
it hasn't been a distraction. It's it really
helps with the distractions. It's it clears my
mind. Sure. And but, you know, not as much of
a distraction as when I'm doing a quiet time,
you know, and I'm trying to be quiet that way.
the fasting really clears your mind. It prepares
you for that really important meeting with God.
And it brings you into... I think it's that clarity
that also is an act of renewal. It's an act of
renewal of your mind, your soul, your heart towards
God. And that renewal is really important. It's
interesting. Sometimes you have to give something
up to get more. Sure. So to be renewed, you have
to give up, to give something. Yeah. And it's
also an identification of solidarity, if you
want, with the poor. Although we're so rich in
our culture, but it's a small, small experience
of identifying with the poor or those that don't
have three meals a day or that don't have the
quality of food that we have. And I think there's
many areas in Scripture where Jesus suggests
that we identify with those that don't have as
much as we do. And so fasting reminds us of that.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I think about like in
some of my experiences of fasting, most recently
I have sometimes, not regularly, but sometimes
adopted this fasting where you don't eat breakfast
or lunch and then you break the fast sort of
at dinner time. And this has been a pattern that
I've done a few times. And I'll find, okay. skipping
breakfast is like not ideal but like it's fine
but then by lunchtime i'm like oh i am actually
hungry um and there is that moment where that
hunger feels like a bit of a distraction but
it doesn't then continue to feel like a distraction
for the entire afternoon like it's kind of this
like intense period that then i can say okay
no i'm gonna Use those hunger cues as a cue to
prayer, as a cue to scripture reading. And then
continue to just like move about my day. And
it doesn't it doesn't seem to be, at least in
my experience, an ongoing distraction. Oh, that's
good. So what has called each of you to fast?
Because it's not like because, again, in Islam,
it's more of an obligation. This is a Christianity.
It's a choice. So what? What leads you to say,
you know, I'm going to fast today? Sure. Yeah,
that's totally. The problems of living. Okay.
Well, then I guess we'll always be hungry because
there's so many problems of living. We have so
many times in our lives where we hit the brick
wall, you know, and we need guidance and we need
support. We need strength. And fasting is a really.
a terrific i think very rich spiritual practice
that gives us that guidance you know when we
have an important decision to make um when you
know we we're looking for uh for a partner we
have uh i don't know critical job decision to
make. We have an issue in relationships. You
know, the problems of living. I think fasting
really comes in there and really helps us. Right.
So for you, fasting has been something that's
really helped you in important decision making
and discernment. For sure. Taking that time to
listen to God. For sure. What about for you,
Elizabeth? For me, you know, when I was growing
up, our parents make it compost free. Okay. Okay.
So there was a little bit of, this is just what
you have to do. Yeah. So fast, you know, those
years, you know, you thought maybe they are so
strict and all that. Yeah. Why, why, why do they
want us to go through hunger and all that? But,
um, it's a commandment, you know, because Jesus
Christ fasted. Uh, so that is what they, put
in now if that is what they embedded in our mind
that time that you know okay you always say you
are a follower of jesus christ jesus christ go
through this fasting so why can't you go through
it sure so that's number one and again weekly
my mom she used to fast wednesday and So, you
know, she also encouraged us to do that. So I've
been doing it all my life. And even on Sunday,
you know, after I did the confirmation at our
church back in Nigeria, I decided on Sundays,
being the Sabbath day, that I, you know, I should
fast. It's just the prompting that I got. So
I don't eat breakfast. If you notice me, everybody
always drinking water. So I skip that. The first
thing that I put in my mouth, apart from brushing
my teeth, is Holy Communion on Sundays. So after
then, I can... Okay. So it's been part of my
life. Fasting has been what empowers me to do
God's will. And when I need prayer, it helps
me to focus more on prayer. Because fasting is
like a boost that takes your prayer to the throne
of grace. help prayer answered faster than, you
know, normal prayer. So that's my belief. And
that is what I've been, you know, I've been going
through all my life. Yeah. So it's just sort
of become part of your rhythm. Yeah. It's something
that you feel like God has compelled you to do
something that you feel able to do. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. I think for me, the first time as an adult,
I guess that I did, And actually, maybe really
the first time that I did fasting sort of intentionally
as a spiritual practice, I was in Bible school.
And so, again, I was sort of instructed to do
it. And but the purpose of this day. So it was
like a sort of silent retreat day. So it's like,
OK, so you do fasting and, you know, you do some
prayer and scripture reading. But then another
part of this day. was that we had this sort of
24 -7 prayer room situation. And we were supposed
to all sign up for an hour and go and pray with
a focus on praying for the persecuted church.
So praying for Christians around the world who
are experiencing suffering because of their faith.
And what I found in that moment was that there
was something about coming to that space of prayer.
in a physically vulnerable state, like being
hungry, that somehow like deepened my ability
to pray for people who were suffering. And I
can't explain it. I can't be like, oh, this is
exactly how that worked. But it just like it
felt different to me. And it felt like a little
bit like solidarity, a little bit like empathy.
But it was just this space of being able to say,
OK, I am. suffering with the suffering church
definitely not to the same level at all like
i'm not saying that but like there was a sense
of feeling connected it helps happen to that
empathy yeah yeah i think so yeah and so that's
been something that i'll sometimes come back
to when i'm like yeah when i like want to be
praying for a specific thing or yeah sometimes
like you said when i'm like trying to really
make a decision um or just feeling like okay
i need I need some more clear space in my life.
Yeah. That fasting is helpful then. I've been
to a church in Canada here that every first Sunday
of the month we have to fast. Okay. And then
that equivalent to the breakfast dollar that's...
we are going to use for that breakfast, we always
donate it to the less fortunate individuals.
Right, so you look at your sort of budget and
you say, okay, I would have spent $20 on food
today, for example, and so I'm going to donate
that $20 to a charity of some sort that helps
folks who are suffering. Yeah, so that's sort
of... the what and the why and the experience
of it. This feels like an obvious question, but
what is hard about Fasten? What makes it a challenging
thing for us to sort of... Well, it's a discipline.
It's a spiritual practice. And so you've got
to be sort of intentional about it and say, you
know, I'm going to fast. And not just for fasting,
but for a reason. There's a reason for fasting.
But it's a practice like any other spiritual
practice that we've discussed so far. There's
a discipline component to it. For sure. For sure.
Yeah. Yeah. I think so last week when we were
talking about. Sabbath, one of the things that
I said was that it's important if you're going
to practice Sabbath that you get your household
on board with that. I would say the same thing
about fasting. Now, I think you can decide that
you are fasting and that doesn't mean that you
need to force everybody in your household to
fast with you. Sometimes that's actually super
helpful if you and your partner or whoever can
fast together. That's great. But at least letting
them know that that's what's happening. Especially
if you're not the cook. Yes, that's right. Your
wife cooks you this lovely dinner and then you
show up and you say, oh, actually, I'm fasting.
I'll enjoy the five hours and I can have my fast.
Yeah. So, yes, I think that communication piece
is important. Yeah. I don't know. Is there anything
else that you feel like something that makes
it particularly challenging to fast? I think
it's just understanding. why you want to fast
that day that's that because again i mean like
especially i guess it's it can be tricky especially
when you're a younger person and you're told
to fast you know you don't know why but this
is just what we do or so yeah so i think it's
important that it especially as an adult if you're
gonna fast you gotta have to have in mind What
do you want out of it? What are you gaining out
of it? And how long do you even want to fast
for? Because it doesn't have to be an hour before
sunrise until sunset, no food, no water, like
with Islam. So I think that's important. And
I think it can be a challenging thing if you
don't realize that as well. is part of your faith
journey and you know like like elizabeth said
you know if you're a follower of christ well
christ fasted right so that is more of an incentive
to fast because we all want to live like jesus
and follow his teachings and his ways So you're
more motivated, you know, versus if, well, mom
and dad said, so we're all fasting. You know
what I mean? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think your point
is well taken. You have to have a why to fast.
I grew up as Catholic, so we had to fast every
Friday, but we only had fish. and i thought i
could never understand that that the why wasn't
there why can't i have fish and chips why can't
i have black licorice too with that because i
really love black licorice sure yeah yeah but
so we but we could we fast but it's just fish
but why why so there was no why so it was very
very difficult yeah yeah yeah for sure yeah i
think that also makes me think about You know,
some of these practical questions are super important.
The like when and the how and the what. Right.
Because there is fasting that is abstaining from
all food. There's fasting that includes abstaining
from water. There's some fasting that is, you
know, I will only eat a certain type of food.
So I only eat fish or only fruits and vegetables.
And then, yeah, there's all of these practices
of abstinence as well, of just getting rid of
some habit or some. practice in your life that
you want to sort of get rid of. Um, yeah. To,
to help you focus on, on something else. Um,
yeah. So just thinking through the practicalities
of it sort of ahead of time. Yeah. And I think
the bigger picture to Hugh's point is especially
if you're a Christian, that's raising a family
is when you're raising kids, they need to have
a why they need to have an understanding because,
you know, let's just face it. Fasting is not
a fun practice. It's not. Nobody goes, oh, boy,
I get to stay abstain from food and water. Yay.
You know, nobody does that. But it's like if
you know why you're suffering, at least for temporarily.
Yeah. It makes a difference because, you know,
you want to think you think about because you
could think of fasting as a negative thing and
a thing to draw you away from Christ and away
from Christianity. You know, so you need to be
able to. Your kids have to know when they're
old enough that this is why we fast and this
is the purpose of it. And, you know, so that
they can continue on. And I think especially
it's important in a Christian household to let
them know that, you know, it doesn't have to
be an every week thing. It doesn't have to be,
you know, it can be when you need that discernment.
Sure. So, yeah. And don't drive them by a Swiss
chalet. Temptation. Yes, yes, yes. That might
be hard in the city where everything has a drive
-thru. I know. Yeah. Okay, so it's really hard,
and we've talked about some of the whys, but
what makes it worthwhile? Have any of you ever
had experiences where you fasted and you felt,
okay, that was worth it, even though it was hard?
And what made it feel worthwhile? I had a really
important decision to make at one point in my
life. I went back to school a couple of times,
but the last time I went back, I was 38, and
I had three children, 12, 11, and 9. And so we
had to sell our house because I was doing a doctorate,
and I had to be on campus in those days for two
years. And so I had to go. if I was going to
do that. Huge decision. For sure. You've got
three kids, you sell your house, and you may
or may not have enough money to last you two
years. And is that really what God is calling
me? Sure. You're wrestling with that call. For
sure. Because the world's saying, oh, you've
got a good job, you've got a nice house, why
are you doing this? And yet the call of God is
saying, because I'm calling you, I'm calling
you to something else. So we spent, my wife and
I spent probably most of the day on our knees
fasting. And really asking for clarity and asking
for a renewed vision, a renewed conviction that
this was the call. And I think the result was
that we felt renewed. We felt the renewed call
after spending that time in fasting. And that,
you know, led us to follow up on the decision.
But when you have those important decisions,
even the healthy, decision sometimes. You know,
if you're facing a really difficult health decision,
fasting will really, will really, will really
help. Sure. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's like asking
Jesus. Even when you're going for some medical
test, you know, they will ask you to fast, you
know, in order to, to do the test then so that
you will get proper result for blood work usually.
Yeah. So what about for you, Elizabeth? What
do you find joyful or helpful about fasting?
It renews my mind and strength. I remember when
I was in Nigeria in 1987, I went to a retreat
and there was a prophetic ministration going
on and I was called and I was told that I would
be trapped. I don't even dream of my, my siblings
are in United States that time, but I don't even
think of traveling, you know? So then there was
a prophecy that I'm going to travel. But before,
that traveling before that this i can get the
visa that i have to fast for 21 days so i was
looking and you know like but oh my gosh i i
believe in god but i was looking and yeah but
i i went through the fasting and um Within a
few weeks, that visa came through. Then in 1988,
I traveled to the United States. So, you know,
sometimes first thing open doors that you don't
even expect that it will open. Fasting, I can
tell you a lot of testimony about my life. Yeah,
how you've seen the effect. Yeah, even my daughter,
you know, within my family, I can, you know,
through the power of fasting, you know, prayer,
answer, and things turn around from worst to
good. Yeah, it's so interesting because I think
that there's there's a careful line we need to
walk here where like fasting does do these really
powerful things in our lives and through us.
And we see answered prayer. And I don't want
to then say that like somehow we fast and we
like get to earn these good things. Right. We
don't fast and then God pays more attention to
us because we're fasting. That's not how it works.
I don't know exactly how it works, but there
is. Some spiritual power that's there. It helps
us to pay more attention to God rather than the
other way around. Well, I think it's like with,
I don't know if it was last week's sermon or
the week before, but how Rob was saying, you
know, yeah, it's not our works that get us to
heaven, but God appreciates those works, especially
if it's in Jesus' name. Right, right. And those
works... form us into the image of christ exactly
yeah yeah yeah for sure because yeah you don't
have to do any of it but and you can believe
in jesus but you know there's more sort of like
you know how you know how well did you follow
jesus you know because i don't think i i mean
i don't know if everybody that gets to heaven
will hear jesus say well done my good and faithful
servant they may They may get entered, but you
know, it's just, I don't know. Yeah. Yeah. Maybe.
Yeah. I think it's like, is it reserved for people
that actually try to walk the path of Jesus?
Sure. You know, and, and do those practices.
Cause I mean, the whole point with the series
is to be more like, live more like Jesus and
follow his teachings and his practices. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. And so fasting just like is. is a
way that that happens, right? And it's a way
we become more Christ -like, I think. Even if
we don't understand exactly how that works. Even
if we can't say that there's an... that a causes
b right that i fasted and therefore i got a visa
right like it looks like that and like maybe
there's some causation there but like yeah we
don't know exactly how all of the pieces fit
we don't know how god works yeah we're just supposed
to follow god they're not supposed to ask yeah
we're not supposed to ask god well why are you
asking me to do this sure sure i mean there's
space for that i think we definitely can ask
god those questions but we don't need to know
the answer to the question in order to live the
life of faith. God will reveal it in time. Yeah.
Okay. So then as you think about fasting, like
this is in some ways a really tangible practice.
It's something that requires some practical preparation
and sort of steps. So then what sort of tips
would you have to offer to people who want to
try and practice fasting? What are some important
things to sort of keep in mind? What would you
say, Elizabeth? They should just start gradually,
you know. Sure. Maybe one step at a time. If
you can't fast all day, you can break your fast
at noon. Sometimes if you have the strength,
you can break your fast at 3 p .m. Sure. Or if
you if God empowers you, you can break your fast
at 6 p .m. Sure. Yeah. Yeah. So just doing it
in the chunks that sort of work for you. Yeah.
Yeah. What else would we say? I would I would
go and suggest that they go into the scripture
and see all the times that. that the scriptural
characters fasted and why they fasted. And that
might give them an idea of, of the reasons for
fasting. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's interesting.
So when you sort of go through scripture, so
obviously we have this example of Jesus and Jesus
was preparing for his ministry. We have examples
of Daniel and some of the others who were living
in Babylon and under this oppression. Yeah. And,
and the example of Esther, And so Esther was
asking folks to fast because she had this really
important decision to make. So sort of like you
were saying, Daniel was fasting as a way of standing
up against empire, as a way of saying, I don't
want to be like my culture. I want to be shaped
by God. Right. Yeah. I think there are other
reasons, like sometimes people will fast because
they're struggling with. some sort of a sin in
their life and sometimes it's it's it's a really
fleshly or like bodily sin so like struggling
with you know gluttony or with lust or struggling
with pride and greed and like sometimes fasting
is a way of challenging those sins quite directly
by saying i am Not going to let my body have
a say in what I want and how I behave. And it
brings you to repentance. So when you focus on
fasting, you know, it makes you humble because
you have to look at the way Jesus was humble
and the way he associated with his disciples.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think the other another practical
consideration is that this is a very physical
bodily practice. And so you need to listen to
and take care of your body in this practice.
Right. And for some people, fasting from food
is just not something that they will physically
be able to do because of health condition or
whatever. Right. And there's there's no shame
in that. Right. There are other practices of
abstinence or ways of doing fasting that will
work for those people. And if you're concerned
about that at all, and maybe even if you're not
concerned, it like is worth like bringing it
up and talking with your doctor and being like,
okay, this is a practice that I want to integrate.
Like, what should I be aware of? Especially,
you know, if you have certain health conditions
or if you're taking certain medications, you
know, just making sure that you gather all of
that information so that you are taking care
of yourself even as you're doing this practice.
Yeah. I think it's important to the, that. fasting
is not always physical but that's what we always
think of you know whether it's for a medical
test or religious or thing you know or you know
but uh i think as well the other thing i would
say with the tip wise is um the way like fasting
and keeping the sabbath are kind of two sides
of the same coin in a way like the sabbath is
like almost like a digital detox you know it's
a digital fast it's a getting rid of that you
know and then obviously fasting is a physical
getting rid of but what's important with both
is what are you filling that space and that time
with? Yeah. You know, if you're just not eating
and you're just miserable and doing nothing or,
or, or you're, or you're, or you're, or if you're
fasting and then just like, I don't know, watching
food network videos or something like that. Well,
you're not doing it. You're not doing any good,
but if you're in prayer, if you're in meditation,
if you're reading the Bible, if you're doing
that thing, you know. Again, if you're going
to give up something, you have to fill it with
something else. Yeah, yeah, for sure. For sure.
Making that space. Yeah. And then I think the
last thing I would sort of say is like having
a plan. Right. So and being flexible with that
plan. Right. So if your plan is, OK, I'm going
to fast until 3 p .m. and you get to noon and
you feel like this is unbearable, like that's
OK. And then having a plan. OK, so knowing, OK,
I have some water available. I have some food
readily available so that when I'm ready to break
my fast, I can do that sort of easily. Yeah.
Just getting all of those practical considerations.
Yeah. Yeah. Fasting is like I like I started
out by saying it's really hard, but it is really
powerful, I think. And it's something that I
think. I know I spent a lot of my life sort of
brushing it off and sort of saying, well, fasting
isn't really that important. Fasting is for a
certain subset of Christians who are like really
super spiritual or who are like really believe
in that. And I don't know, it's just sort of
over there. But I think it is something that
we can all participate in in some way and something
that, yeah, is formational in surprising ways
sometimes. Yeah. So thank you so much, folks,
for this conversation. And thank you for tuning
in to this week's episode of Trinity Talks. Whether
you decide to fast from food or not, whether
you are going to go ahead and fast from social
media or shopping or whatever. I hope that you
can find some practice that works for you where
you can remove distractions and find that time
to really focus on God and to experience God's
presence and power and compassion in the midst
of that hardship that you are facing. And we
will see you again next week.