The Greta Value of Empty Stomach

“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting for forty days and forty nights, he was hungry” (Matthew 4:1-2).

Keep fasting over this night! Why, for what? Tomorrow you have operation, we cannot operate in full stomach, the doctors said!

Food is important for the body and nutrition is essential for it. Fasting does not mean we do not need to eat. One thing peculiar to this subject is that we cannot find a scripture that gives us a command to fast. It is useless as well if we fast without understanding the spiritual value of this act. Otherwise, we will cling to its mere physical aspect only.

The Israelites, the people of God, use to fast in three main occasions: First, when they sin against God they  fast as an act of repentance form their wicked ways. (1st  Samuel 7:6) By fasting they show humbleness in front of God and forward their petition to gain His reconciliation and forgiveness. Secondly, when they face threats, calamities, plagues or death they fast to draw near to God, to gain His protection and invite Him to fight for them and to deliver them from the hands of the enemy. (2

Chronicles Chapter 20*) Thirdly, when they are about to perform a big task whether physical or spiritual they fast to invite the Spirit of God to go before them to achieve the work. They charge their bodies  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  thus  fasting  is  a  privilege  equal  to  power,  progress  and  success. (Nehemiah 1:4*)

As human, two main poles act on us 1st Pole, God, who represents the Holiness. 2nd pole, Satan the tempter, with all his weapons that act on our instincts and desires. To draw toward the 1st pole is to declare or dependence on the Spirit of God who supplies even our physical needs.

Fasting is not meant to be compulsory act. Be aware! Fasting is not a habit. It is not a tradition. It is not mere imitation. Our desire to be near God should be the initiative and the motive for fasting. This is the “fasting led by the Spirit”.

Jesus, before he started His ministry on earth, was led by the Spirit to fast. He withdrew toward the desert where nothing of value can be seen except the holiness and the greatness of the unseen, our God.  He withdrew to the desert where he started the battle against Satan, the tempter. There he started His wrestle by fasting against the flesh and against its three main legions which are:

1) The physical needs, instincts and desires: “The tempter came to him and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread. ’Jesus answered’ it is written: Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:3-4). The suggestion of the devil is that you can satisfy your physical needs by earthly things. Satan tried to pull him away from the spiritual food that gives the satisfaction even to the physical needs. By fasting will not only be released from the  bondage of physical food, but will help us to overcome other body instincts and desires like the lust of the flesh. In fact, to teach ourselves this new rule of life is not easy and it needs a lot of Spiritual maturity to say this verse as Paul said ”Everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial. Everything is  permissible for me-but I will not be mastered by anything. Food for stomach and stomach for food-But God will destroy them both. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body” (1 Corinthians 6:12-13).

2) The human pride: “Then the devil took him to the Holy City and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ’If you are the Son of God’ he said,’ throw yourself down’. For it is written:”He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone’. Jesus answered him, ‘it is also written: Do not put the Lord your God to the test” (Matthew 4:5-7). (The devil used even words from the Holy Scriptures, Psalm

91:11-12). Here, Satan tried to substantiate Jesus claim to be God’s son, (If you are the Son of God).

And, at this point the devil tried to ignite the spirit of pride in Jesus tempting Him to do supernatural things to prove His Identity. The devil does the same with us, pushing us to show our splendour and our  pride, which is the mother and the breadwinner of many sins. Fasting is one of the means to control and suppress that pride by depending on God’s Spirit rather than our flesh.

3)  Greed for possession: “Again the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendours. ’All this I will give you’, he said, ’If you will bow down and worship me’. Jesus said to him, ‘Away from me, Satan!’ For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only”. (Matthew 4:8-10) The devil here tried to pull Jesus to his side by bribing him with material things. Satan’s option is for Jesus to reign the world by treasures and to deviate God’s plan for Jesus to reign the world by the way of the cross. Fasting helps us refrain from worshipping and serving the idols of money and materialism.

Fasting directs our bodies to serve God by the divine way of living. It can be one of the scales that measure our love toward God. It cleans us from the greed of possessions and the love of position, and draws us toward the Holiness of our God. “Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.” (Matthew 4:11) Jesus wrestled with the above three legions and defeated the power of Satan and the flesh through fasting, and replaced them with the power of the Holy Spirit, the cause of later triumphs in His ministry on earth.

My Dear and Beloved: When fasting overcomes all the above flesh components, when fasting is accompanied by humble attitude of renouncing our sins and repentance from our wrong ways, when fasting is accompanied by the act to share our food with the hungry and our clothes with the naked, when fasting is accompanied by the desirable submission to the will of God, this is the healthy and effective fasting. This is “the great value of empty stomach.” The time when we can draw closer to God, and the time that we can surrender our flesh to God, inviting Him to dwell in us, His angels surround us, and  the Holy Spirit to work through us. For God is pleased to operate on the empty stomach to heal us, to give us the strength, the courage, the wisdom and the victory over the power of darkness. And “Then your light will break forth like dawn, and you healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of God will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here Am I” (Isaiah 58:8-

9a) Therefore commit your life and ways to God as you agree to pray.

My Prayer: Father God I come before you in the name of Jesus who died on the cross for my sins to give me eternal life. Lord help and give me the self-control and the strength to overcome all the flesh desire and gives me the perseverance to fast and to commit my stomach in your hands. Lord help to do that and help me to repent from all my sins and be transform to the likeliness that want to see me. This all I ask and pray in Jesus name Amen.