Fasting. We are so used to satisfying every hunger pang that we have. The implications of doing that without an actual break tells us that we are a slave to our desires. Our culture is centered around self-gratification. Fasting is a counter culture activity. This is not restricted to food, by the way. A fruit of the Holy Spirit is self-control, not self-gratification. You are not your desire, that’s not where your identity lies. You are not your feelings, that’s not where your identity lies. Our true identity lies in Jesus, Child of God, victorious, and loved. Even just changing your language around feelings like saying, “I have feelings of fear” instead of “I am afraid” will help detach your feelings from your identity in your mind. The stronghold that food has on people using the basic bodily impulse is a manipulation of a desire that God created. The stronghold, the hunger we need, is a hunger for the presence of God. We can come to a place that we crave His presence more than we crave food.
