Just curious, have you ever heard that little devil on one shoulder telling you to go have another handful of chips or scoop of ice-cream from the the freezer? And then the conflicting little voice dressed in all white on the other shoulder saying.. "Ughh stop! You just ate! Meal time will be in an hour! No more!"
NOT TODAY!
Have you ever entered and/or completed a fast?
What exactly IS a fast? It’s abstaining from something specific, giving up something intentionally for a purpose. It doesn't have to just include food though. Fasting can be from anything such as social media to several lunch breaks for an extended period of time, refraining from anything but liquid, that nightly night cap, dessert, a monthly shopping trip, eating out, TV, smoking, .. whatever you can name. The point of the fast is to connect your heart, mind and soul. It's not intended to be easy or to be about loosing weight but to cleanse and reset you emotionally and physically. And for this post, I will refer to fasting from food.
Whenever I meet with a client that is caught in the emotional and mental bondage of the war with food- ya know the cravings, desire, illness and unrealistic hunger. I always suggest a fast.
(I am not a medical professional. So, it's important that my clients consult their doctor and begin their fast with a healthy checkup and thumbs up.)
Fasting stems from personal and well researched advice. Entering the fast most often begins with a passionate desire towards a goal. In the supernatural, God is praised and worshiped as you set aside your hunger and pour your focus on Him. Miracles brew and come to fruition, healing takes place, unlikely situations turn around in your favor, relationships are found and renewed. All because you gave up earthly bread and made a personal inward statement to rely on God and His Word to fill you and sustain you. It's not about the end result of the scale, it's about the cleansing, renewing and worship.
Then, there's fasting for health which is one of my favorite ways to begin with a client. I recommend a 5 day full water/broth (or lemon cayenne cleanse) fast. It's difficult to say the least but it's extremely beneficial. Not only is your entire digestive system cleansed but your mind is completely renewed. You learn what true hunger feels like. You can differentiate between hunger and cravings. Your mind is inline with portion control and satisfaction. Your tastebuds are reset to recognize what sweetness should taste like and how much is enough. And your mind regains control of "king stomach" as Jentezen Franklin calls it. His church corporately engages in a fast together every year.
We become hooked on food in general, we're living to eat as opposed to eatting to live. we eat when we're bored and are addicted to preservative tasting, trans fat and high sugar laden foods. Sugar is in 90% or more of the products found on the shelves of your grocery store.
God first gave us a garden and animals to manage and use for food- calories and energy. Food is what grows and heals us day after day. If our bodies are continually starved and malnourished than human beings will eventually cease to exist. So, isn't it funny that Satan uses food to cause disease and distraction within our minds? He ultimately wants us to be wiped from the Earth, especially if we love Jesus more so than acknowledge his ways.
I can also personally tell you that the beginning of any fast can be exciting, but as the going gets tough you have to put in muscle to stick it out. But if you put in the muscle, and keep on going, you'll be surviving on what you thought you could never live without. And believe it or not, once your fast is finally over you'll actually crave and miss the sweet days of how you felt when you were fasting that particular "thing"You'll miss the closeness you felt, as well as how light and fresh your body and mind felt. Your skin becomes clearer and so do your thoughts.
I encourage you to do more research in the area of fasting. In the past few years Intermittent Fasting or IF has become popular. Intermittent fasting has proven to be beneficial, but please do so with discipline. Don't withhold food and then binge when the window of consuming a meal opens. Decide on the timeframe that you should be eating throughout the day, plan what you're going to eat and then log it into a dietary log. Don't let yourself mindlessly snack on little bites of this and that throughout the day. Each bite counts, believe it or not. If you had a nibble of something all through out the day it adds up in the end of day count of micro and macro nutrient counts.
So, if you're looking for a way to overcome some of the mental bondage that I mentioned. Maybe giving up something specific for an extended period of time is what your body and mind are in desperate need of.
