Is Food an Idol in Your Life?

It is prayer and fasting month at Southland Church and so I'm dedicating this blog post to talking about a few important things pertaining to fasting.

Warnings about Fasting

Be careful that your fasting doesn't become about dieting

• If you struggle with an eating disorder then you should NOT fast food! 

Legalism in fasting/spiritual pride

• We can NOT judge others and even judge ourselves by our level of fasting or any other spiritual discipline.
• Avoid comparing what you are fasting with what others are fasting
• We do not fast to gain approval from God but rather to grow in relationship with God. 
• Fasting isn't about earning salvation or getting God to owe us something.

Fasting must be accompanied by bible reading and prayer or it’s just a diet.

Common Reasons People Avoid Fasting

Social pressures - I have to still cook for my kids, I got invited out…

• Try to coordinate fasting with the rest of your family, if possible
• Don’t worry about cooking fancy meals for your family if you are fasting. 
• If your husband struggles with you fasting then prayerfully consider how to structure your fast so it isn’t a stumbling block for him. 
• Prayerfully consider what to do if you get invited out

Physical weakness and side effects – I get tired and headachy, I get ill, and I get grouchy…

• Ps. 109:24 – David said, "my knees are weak from fasting"
• Headaches = detoxification, very healthy for your body
• Loss of energy is normal
• As fasting becomes a lifestyle, you will get used to this
• Don’t get dehydrated! 

My body needs regular food…it’s unhealthy to skip meals

• You stomach and body will learn to adjust the more you fast
• Ignore hunger pains, they are not true hunger but rather from habit
• Medical science says fasting is actually good for your body

I can’t concentrate or focus on anything, I have to work, I have too much stuff to get done

• mental alertness is often affected = decreased productivity
• You may feel tired, let God refine your schedule this month
• This is temporary, think about the permanent growth in your walk with God instead

I have a medical condition so I can’t fast…

• This is legitimate
• If you have a medical condition  or if you are pregnant or nursing, then you need to get creative with your fasts - try fasting desserts, junk food, media, etc.
• Talk to your doctor if you are unsure about your medial condition and fasting

I need media in order to survive…

• No you don’t
• Be creative, avoid entertainment/social media
• business related media can be OK

I don’t get anything out of my fast

• Are you eating spiritual food or just avoiding physical food?  Scripture + Prayer is essential!!!
• Is God trying to teach you about endurance and faithfulness?
• Are you trying to fast away something that is a consequence of a sinful choice?
• Are you fasting for something that is aligned with God’s will?
• Is there an area of disobedience that is keeping you from receiving your answer?
• Are you trying to earn an answer to prayer?
• Maybe you are not fasting often enough?

I don’t understand how not eating brings me closer to God?

• Biblical fasting always focuses on God and should draw us closer to God
• It should grow us into a deeper relationship  with God
• Fasting is obedience to God, obedience brings us closer to God
• You don’t have to understand it to do it
• Fasting requires FAITH!

Why Fast?  A FEW of the Purposes for Fasting…

1. To experience more of God’s love and presence (Matt. 9:14-15).  

Jesus told the disciples that when He would be taken away from them, then they should fast.  We fast for more of His presence in our lives because He is not here right now, He is in Heaven and we desire greater intimacy with Him.

2. To grow in humility (Psalm 35:13) 

When we fast our bodies are tired, our minds get spacey, our strength is gone, our capacities are not in full operation, easy tasks become difficult.  This is humbling. 

3. To reveal areas where the flesh has control of our lives (Matt. 26:41) 

We are so used to satisfying our natural cravings we have been deceived into letting our flesh dominate our spirits.  Fasting is a temporary way to reverse this dominance; we must rely on Spirit to control the flesh.  This teaches us to deny self and is diametrically opposed to our personal selfishness.  Many false pleasures and securities are exposed, the false gods we sooth our souls with begin to show and we can then begin to deal with them. 

4. To grow in spiritual hunger (Matt. 5:6) 

Jesus releases His power and presence to us in direct proportion to the measure of our hunger for Him.  Fasting awakens our interest in God.  Spiritual hunger is when you cannot live without more so you make radical alterations in your life to pursue God more which includes rearranging your life, time, money and comforts to pursue Him more. 

5. To increase in hearing God (Acts 13:2; 14:23) 

God led the early church as they sought Him in fasting and prayer.  He directed them and told them His plans for the future. 

6. To break spiritual strongholds (Matt. 17:15-21) 

Jesus told his disciples they couldn't cure a demonized man because the demon plaguing the man could only come out through prayer and fasting.   You or a loved one may be struggling with a spiritual stronghold and fasting may be the spiritual weapon necessary to break this bondage. 

7. To remove idols in our lives (Phil. 3:18-19)

We live in a culture that craves comfort and ease and fasting puts us in a situation where we feel yucky, we feel hungry, we feel tired, we get less done and the list goes on and on…there is nothing like fasting to reveal the selfish idols in our lives! 

But did you know that food itself is an idol in many women’s lives.  And, I’m not just talking to overweight women here, women of all shapes and sizes can struggle with food being an idol in their lives.  You can even struggle with food being an idol if you have NEVER been overweight or if you have NEVER overeaten.

Many women struggle with extremes in eating.  The obvious one is overeating, but under eating can be just as big as a problem in today’s society.   So can extreme diets that restrict calories or that restrict certain kinds of foods.  Our culture sells beauty as being thin and many women go to extremes to try to be that way showing that their physical appearance is also an idol in their lives.  Exercise can also become an idol for some, so can laziness in those who laze around all day. 

God wants us to be HEALTHY, but we have the wrong idea of what HEALTHY looks like.  We have been fooled by our culture to believe healthy = thin.  Our bodies, our appearance, food, and weight can all be idols in our lives.  God wants us to focus on being healthy and living balanced live, not being controlled by appearance, weight, food or fitness.  YES, take care of your body, but do it for the RIGHT reasons. 

When we are controlled by these things we are being controlled by something other than God.  This is not God’s desire for us! As Christian women, we are not to be controlled by the desire to be thin, the desire to be fit and strong, OR on the other side we are not to be controlled by the desire to laze around all day or the desire to eat whatever wewant…we are to be controlled by the Holy Spirit.

Phil. 3:18-19 ¹⁸For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.¹⁹Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.

What controls us is our god, yet these gods often go unrecognized by believers today.  We don’t realize that when we overindulge in food and laze around we are really worshiping something that isn't the one, true God, we are worshiping ourselves!  The same thing occurs when we under-eat or over-exercise to be thin or overly fit. 

No one thinks that they worship food or their own body, no Christians want to worship these things, yet our appetites, our desire to eat or avoid eating, can preoccupy our schedules and plans to the point where they become one of our primary life goals.  Some think about food all the time, they eat to calm their nerves, they eat when they are afraid, anxious, happy, sad…some avoid food at all costs because the thought of gaining a pound is so scary to them.  Many of us are way more emotionally or mentally connected to food then we may realize.  It has often become a stronghold in our lives.

Indulgence in any legitimate pleasure will cause us to become spiritually dull.  Food is a legitimate pleasure.  Exercise is another example of a legitimate activity but if overdone will cause us to become spiritually dull.  Entertainment, recreation, food, exercise, and countless other hobbies can cause us to become spiritually dull if they are not kept in proper balance in our lives.  Fasting from these legitimate pleasures has the potential to transform your life spiritually!  Fasting is a brilliant strategy from God so that we can enter in to receive more of Him.

The reality is that God created legitimate things like food for our pleasure and we have used and abused them.  He gave us food as a gift and we have used it to comfort and control us.

Food is good, it is not innately evil.  We will eat in eternity!  We need discernment to keep food in its proper place in our lives so it doesn't become an object of idolatry and end up controlling us.  Fasting from legitimate pleasures can help reveal these idols in our lives, as long as we stay fasting for spiritual reasons and don’t make it about weight loss or other selfish things! 

Ladies, you have an opportunity this month to let God speak into your life and to grow you in your walk with Him.  You have the opportunity to let God show you where your focus has been on earthly things and can walk out in obedience, growing in living for Him and His Kingdom.  I would highly suggest prayerfully considering some sort of fast this month!    

Personal Reflection and Prayer Questions
1. What reasons have you used in the past to avoid fasting? Ask the Lord to speak the truth into each of these reasons and show you creative ways that you can fast.
2. Read Phil. 3:18-19.  One aspect of fasting is giving up legitimate pleasures in order to receive more of God and become more spiritually alive.  What legitimate things is God asking you to give up this prayer and fasting season?  For example; food/eating, exercise/fitness, entertainment, recreation/relaxation, hobbies, etc.  Ask the Lord to show you the specifics of what your fast should look like, including WHAT to fast from, LENGTH of fast, etc.
3. Ask the Lord to show you what He wants you to pray and fast for in the following areas.
        a. personal spiritual growth/charater growth
        b. family (lost love one, marriage, children, spouse, family decision, finances, etc.)
        c. the area where you volunteer (if you are not volunteering you can pray and fast about where God wants you to volunteer)
        d. Church Renewal at Southland and across Canada
4. Fasting is also about feeding on the Word of God and spending time in prayer.  Write a prayer of commitment to the Lord, committing to spending time with Him in the Word and in prayer as well as completing your fast.