You ever get triggered on someone else’s behalf? That’s me writing about fasting.
I suffered with disordered eating for 20 years. It wasn’t until coming to Christ that I saw any lasting recovery, and while there’s still a ways to go, I’m grateful that God has healed my particular brand of crazy to the point I can fast without danger.
But while I’m okay, not everyone is.
Every time I type the f-word in a post, I think of friends who aren’t there yet. I wonder what they’re experiencing when people joke about how little they ate or how much weight they’ve lost. I wonder if they don’t feel safe at church during fasting season. I wonder if they think they’re broken spiritually because it’s not healthy mentally for them to participate physically.
Friends: Fasting is a powerful tool for a believer, but it’s not the only one.
If restricting your food for spiritual purposes threatens to take you out, DON’T DO IT.
You don’t have to fast and you’re not broken if you don’t and you can still seek God in ways that support your mental health.
Start a 30-day devotional on YouVersion
Write a 21-day spiritual journal
Worship 30 minutes a day for a week
Replace Netflix with a Christian book
Just don’t isolate.
Yes, you may hear your demon glorified if you go to church. But you’ll also be surrounded by dozens of champions—friends who want to see you healed and whole—and by the presence of God, against which the enemy has no power.
Fast, don’t fast. ED, no ED. Either way, you are loved by the great God of the universe to whom you are infinitely valuable, no matter what.
“‘No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me.’” [Isa 54:17 NKJV]
