For a few days, the Lord has been inviting me to fast. I come from a church background/family background that has never practiced fasting, and I never really knew what the purpose of fasting was. Fasting was mentioned at training camp and I didn’t really think about it or see it as something that I could ever do.
Then, just recently, one of my teammates fasted food for a day. My honest opinion about it was that it was pretty pointless and I could still talk to God WHILE still eating food. But something about what she learned during the process piqued my interest and I heard the Lord whisper.
I blew it off, thinking I could never go a full day with out food because I would either be too weak to function or would pass out or something crazy like that. But the Lord KEPT inviting me to fast. He would either directly talk to me about it or He would have someone around me mention it. Fasting just kept coming up.
So I prayed about it to make sure it was something He wanted me to do. Then right after I prayed, my squad leader, Taylor, mentioned something RANDOM about fasting and I knew that that was God confirming my question.
Monday morning came around and I hadn’t though about when I was going to start fasting, but we were having yogurt for breakfast and I HATE yogurt so I didn’t really eat. And the Lord said “hey, remember what I told you yesterday. start NOW.”
So I started that morning.
After breakfast, I went upstairs to ask God what this day would be all about. He gave me two scriptures. Matthew 28 and Psalm 145. Matthew 28 talks about when Jesus rose from the tomb and the women who found it empty. The Bible says that they were “deep in wonder and full of joy.” God said to me “here’s what I want you to live by today. Study me, rely on me, find out more about me.” And Pslam 145 says, “The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does. The Lord upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.”
These verses were further confirmation about what this day was going to be all about. He was going to teach me what it meant to be FULLY dependent in him.
So the day went on. I went to the market and prepared lunch. I had started to get really hungry around lunch time. And the whole point of fasting is so when you want to depend on food to satisfy your needs, you turn to the Lord instead. So I went upstairs and started to pray. I asked the Lord to fill me and make me full. And he DID! I was no longer hungry for the whole day. I got to spend sweet time with Jesus just sitting with him and reading his word and learning more about his character.
I got to experience the immense POWER of Jesus and what he can do through me and IN me. He has the power to fill me with Him and only him. Enough to get me through a full day without food. He taught me that all the material things that I depend on don’t have the power to fill me like Jesus can fill me.
No other power in this Universe has the power to fill me the way Jesus Christ my savior can.
I got to experience that personally. I also learned the power and importance of my obedience. If I had kept blowing Jesus’ invitation off, I would have never gotten to experience what I did that day. Monday was a sweet gift. God taught me SO MUCH. I am constantly learning about who He is and who I am in Him.
Thank you so much for reading about what God’s been teaching me in Cambodia.
I am also fully funded! Praise God! Thank you everyone who has donated to me and allowed me to be here!
Blessings,
Eliza
