Moses stayed there with the Lord for forty days and forty nights, without eating any food or drinking any water, and he wrote on the tablets...the ten commandments.
Exodus 34:28
I am one of those few who have no right to fast because I'm underweight. But I still do it once in a while to deepen my relationship with God.
One of my most difficult fasts was when I ate only bread and water from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. for several weeks in preparation for the Christian Life Series I was serving in.
It wouldn't have been a struggle if my birthday didn't fall within than period or if I was not teaching in preschool. Despite my petite stature, I can eat like a horse after teaching a bunch of energy-zapping preschoolers who never run out of vigor.
I couldn't even get to eat the food I had brought for my colleagues for my birthday celebration. It also didn't help that my peers were telling me that God would understand if I took a sip of Coke or put adobo sauce on my bland bread.
What people don't know is that I find fasting difficult. I fast not because I want to stay thin, but because I want to master the art of self-discipline and say no to something as basic as food. When I do that, it's easier to say no to temptation.
By Ems Sy Chan, Philippines
REFLECTION: Fasting possesses great power. If practiced with the right intention, it makes one a friend of God. The demons are aware of that. (Quintus Tertullian)
It wouldn't have been a struggle if my birthday didn't fall within than period or if I was not teaching in preschool. Despite my petite stature, I can eat like a horse after teaching a bunch of energy-zapping preschoolers who never run out of vigor.
I couldn't even get to eat the food I had brought for my colleagues for my birthday celebration. It also didn't help that my peers were telling me that God would understand if I took a sip of Coke or put adobo sauce on my bland bread.
What people don't know is that I find fasting difficult. I fast not because I want to stay thin, but because I want to master the art of self-discipline and say no to something as basic as food. When I do that, it's easier to say no to temptation.
By Ems Sy Chan, Philippines
REFLECTION: Fasting possesses great power. If practiced with the right intention, it makes one a friend of God. The demons are aware of that. (Quintus Tertullian)
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