Feasting Not Fasting

This Lenten season God showed me how to feast, not fast. When I was younger, a family tradition was to choose a food item to give up during the time of Lent. Instead of food, I decided this year to give up something that took time away from meeting with the Lord. I realized that there wasn’t much sense in giving up something that takes time away if I wasn’t willing to spend time with Him. The end result was that I set my heart on having a quiet time with the Lord in the mornings. If that didn’t happen, then instead of playing computer games in the evening, I would have my quiet time.

It has been 23 days since I began purposing to meet daily with God. Some days my meeting is brief, a few bible verses and maybe a chapter in a Christian non-fiction book. Other days my meeting is extended and I am able to spend time worshiping the Lord after reading His Word. Whether long or short, my time with God has become a feast for my soul. I have found, as David wrote in Psalm 63:1 “O God, you are my God earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” I have decided it is not about what I don’t do during this Lenten season, what I fast from; more important is what I do, what I feast upon. God has been faithful and merciful to me. He has met with me and fed my thirsty soul and soothed my weary body.

During the last 23 days, I have spent more time with the Lord than I have on other semi-important things in my life. My school work hasn’t had the attention that it needed, my house hasn’t had the attention that it needed, and probably my husband and kids haven’t had all of the attention that they needed. I know that I cannot continue this way indefinitely, but until the time when my extended feasting must come to an end, I know that Jesus is speaking to me also when he said, “Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Like 10:42).

My prayer in sharing this is that someone else can be moved by the Spirit of the Lord. I pray that someone who has decided to fast will see that fast become a feast for their soul. I pray that at God’s gentle prodding, we realize what is important and will last, and what can be put off for today. I pray that the Ruach Elohim, the Wind of God, will meet you and draw you to where He desires you to be. Peace and Joy in this time and in this season.