Lent: A Time to Hunger

Fasting is hard -- whether you’re fasting from certain foods, sweets, drinks, bad habits, social media or other things and addictions that give you pleasure. But it’s a necessary part of Lent. Here’s why.

What is the purpose of fasting? It’s a time to tune into our deeper hungers and our tendency to excess. This world is full of good things that can distract us from our hunger for God: food, pleasure, lusts, hobbies, entertainment, technology, and so on -- especially if we aren’t raising our minds and hearts to God while we are engaged in them.

We’ve all experienced the “never enough” syndrome. No sooner do we get what we desire from this world, but we want something more after that. We have a tendency to want excess and to never quite be filled up inside. Even in small day to day decisions we may experience this temptation…”just a little more will satiate me.” We learn that it never quite does.

It’s in those empty spots that are incomplete that God is this Lent, and where you may be called to fast. The places in which you have become distracted, are craving for more, and are never quite satisfied. He wants to meet you there in these 40 days. He wants to lead you to more freedom from these things.

Only when we become conscious of those things that are distracting us from that deeper desire and reduce their hold on our life, can we move spiritually deeper into a relationship with God and recognize that only God alone will truly satisfy.