My 40-day fast - insights

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From Day 1 of my fast, I had a greater desire to spend time with the Lord.  In addition to my usual morning quiet time, I spent my lunch hour with Him, too.  I listened to sermons online, or read, or wrote in my prayer journal.  

I felt closer to God.  I had peace.

Normally, I would usually spend my lunch hour watching a sitcom, or looking at cooking shows online - always looking for new recipes!  I had no desire for either during the fast.

I kept a daily journal during the 40 days.  In the Bible, 40 is an important number.  Awesome things took place during either 40 days or 40 years.  I wondered what my 40 days would bring me, where it would lead and take me.

I tried not to place too many expectations on the fast, on what the Lord would do in, around, or for me and instead I simply hungered for more of Jesus.  Thank You, Lord.

I wasn't distracted by food or "entertainment!"  It came more naturally now to focus on the Lord, staying close to Him, instead of thinking about what to make for dinner.  Meals were simple now.  Dinner was usually a piece of salmon with a vegetable.  Breakfast was peanut butter and all-fruit spread on brown rice cakes.  Lunch was either a New York Goodwich, salad, or tuna salad made with vegan mayo.

No sugar of any kind!  No "added" sugar.  No sweets.  But I don't remember craving them.

I didn't have my blog yet, or I would have journaled here daily.  So now, I will go back through my journal and glean highlights to share with you here.

From Day 2:

"I forgot how lousy I feel on this fast.  Having a rough time of it so far.  Fighting a headache since last night...I can't imagine enduring 39 more days of this."

But better days lay ahead!  My body was starting the detox process.  But anyone who has fasted, for the Lord or otherwise, knows that after a certain time, the body feels better than ever if you just hang in there.

Just so you know, whenever I have tried to fast on my own, I never lasted more than a day.  The only way I have every been able to stay on a fast is when the Lord has led me on the fast.  He gets all the glory!

In reading over the first few days of my fasting journal, I wrote that I was tired and a bit depressed.  Part of the territory.  But it's amazing what we can do when we know the Lord has commanded us.  God was in this fast.  

I still didn't know what the Lord was up to and other than feeling close to Him, which was heaven on earth and all I really wanted, the Lord eventually revealed His mission statement for me very simply. 

I simply wrote one sentence during one of my quiet times: to share God's truth through song and writing.  There it was!  He told me to start a blog.

Now this came to me after the fast, a couple of weeks later.  The Lord was preparing my heart during the fast and then, so to speak, cut me loose afterwards!

I had started to write a blog in the past several times but it never felt right.  Now, the Lord was telling me to start one with the limited tools I had.  I really wanted a MacBook Pro, as I once had.  But I couldn't afford one yet.  I prayed for one - I wanted everything in one place.  As it was, I had my Chromebook and an older iMac as my tools, plus my husband's more up-to-date desktop Mac.  Yet the Lord told me that I have everything I need to do what He told me to do.  It wasn't ideal, in my mind - it wasn't streamlined - but I obeyed anyway. 

I took a week's vacation in October (one month after the fast) and since it was really a "staycation," I used the time to work on getting my blog up and running.  I wanted to use WordPress but it doesn't work on a Chromebook.  Should I sign up and create a website for this?  I had created websites in the past, so knew how to do it.  But frankly I didn't want to spend any money on a domain name, and a monthly fee to maintain the site.  At least, not yet.

It took me the entire week to research, do my due diligence, and get this thing up and running.  

I believe the Lord gave birth to my ministry here on this blog as a result of my 40-day fast.  

That was one of the "fruits" of my fast.  

I will go back and read through my fasting journal and share with you more of what the Lord showed me.  I just wanted to "fast forward" a bit first to tell you how I ended up here, writing this blog. 

I don't really remember the suffering, the deprivation, of the fast any more.  I only remember, or take away with me, the beautiful intimacy I had with the Lord during that time.  So worth it!

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