Soma Austin Community Church

There are a good number of you that have either been Christians or had knowledge of Christ for quite sometime in your lives that will be reading this; because of this, there are quite a few of us that know Christian answers, but have a difficulty transitioning those to our actions, and even worse yet to our hearts.  As we begin to learn that, in humility, we should submit ourselves to God, and that then we are given more freedom in life…not less, as some would have you believe; we begin to learn more about both God and ourselves.

Over the last few days, I have been pondering, “Why should I fast?”, or, when I am being completely honest, “What is in this for me?”—a question I am ashamed to admit that I ask in my heart far too often.  After praying that I would be more motivated in fasting and not just for this project, I came across a passage in John Piper’s A Hunger for God (pp.178):

Well, if God does not reward fasting because we create it and offer it to him to get a recompense, why does he reward it? If, in fact, God himself is the Creator and Sustainer of fasting, why is it that he has appointed this act as an occasion of his reward? The answer is that God is committed to rewarding those acts of the human heart that signify human helplessness and hope in God.  Over and over again in Scripture God promises to come to the aid of those who stop depending on themselves and seek God as their treasure and help.

Piper unpacks, what has been something I have found much difficulty in remembering, fasting should be a physical manifestation of our dependence on God, it is to be done not as a sign of our own righteousness (because without Christ we have none), but to be done for the honor and glory of the Father.  Our reward is his glory.  On that note, I leave you with this quote,

“Spiritual delight in God arises chiefly from his beauty and perfection, not from the blessings that he gives us.” – Jonathan Edwards

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