“Say “No” To The Good; Seek The Better”

Sunday, May 29, 2016

Fasting has always been portrayed in the Scriptures as a method of eliminating distractions present in the physical life in order to focus on the realities of the spiritual life. This is especially important in times when our earthly lives are plagued with distress and fear. Eliminating a concern for food—a major concern for us on any normal day—frees the mind to focus in prayer and to truly seek the Lord’s comfort and strength. There is a powerful demonstration of this as Esther puts her life on the line to save the Jewish nation. Before she enters the king’s presence, she asks the entire nation to forego eating food and to pray for her to have favor in his eyes (Esther 4:16).

And yet, even in times of great calm and peace, fasting has the ability to lend the same sort of spiritual focus. In fact, there are a few times in the New Testament when people just say “no” to something that is, in its own right, a good thing. They reject it, however, for the purpose of devoting themselves to that which is more important at the time.

In Acts 6, a need arose among the widows who were members of the massive Jerusalem church, and the apostles were approached about taking care of it. Their response: “we will devote ourselves to the ministry of the word and to prayer,” and so other men were appointed to solve the problem. They denied themselves the opportunity to do good in order to focus on an even greater good.

In 1 Corinthians 7:15, the Holy Spirit says to married couples, “Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again.” Even the blessings of marriage can be foregone on occasion to achieve greater spiritual focus.

What about in your life? What are there some things that you can deny yourself for a time to devote yourself to God? It is truly helpful to occasionally challenge our own senses of self-control (one of the fruits of the spirit) to make sure that our entire lives are under God’s control.

Take a look at your life. Deny yourself some pleasure that you regularly enjoy. And in its place, give your mind and your heart to the word of God and to prayer.

- Dan Lankford, minister

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