“Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” (Joel 2:12, New International Version)
Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God. (Psalm 43:4, New International Version)
Theme: Rejoicing and Thanksgiving
Context:
We turn out attention today to the discipline of Fasting. Please be reminded that tomorrow will be dedicated to fasting. If your health allows you to, please consider participating and giving up at least one meal for the day.
Understandably, fasting is not often associated with rejoicing and thanksgiving. On the contrary, it is often associated with mourning, repentance, and intractable problems. There is nothing wrong with those associations, but we know that God calls us to fasting because he is the source for all we need, and His supply is cause for rejoicing and thanksgiving.
Bible Passages:
In our first passage today, we see an example of God calling His people to an “all-in” relationship that includes fasting. In our second passage David declares that God is his joy and delight. Please study the passages and answer the question below.
Question:
Do you view fasting as an opportunity to draw closer to rejoicing and thanksgiving?
Please leave a comment. We would love to hear from you.
March 9, 2023 at 6:06 am
Fasting is one of the ways to worship and show gratitude to God. Psalms 100 says enter into His courts with Praise, which I know and have done before but most of the times my main posture when I fast is for strength, revelation, or a change of a situation.
March 9, 2023 at 6:07 am
I would have to say not really. But it is! In Joel when the people repented and fasted there was a huge and great response from the Lord. That is enough for us to remember to rejoice and give thanks.
March 9, 2023 at 8:58 am
To me fasting is like a process or a way of reflecting on my sins, then recognizing how I was redeemed by God , understanding how precious the gift of salvation is, and at the end enjoying fellowship with God that stems out of being grateful for God’s unconditional love for me. In return, it results into having a joyful heart for I know that by doing fasting, I somehow shared the suffering of my savior Jesus Christ. It may not be enough sacrifice as compared to how Jesus died on the cross for me, but to some extent it gives me joy and fulfillment that I did something to glorify God especially during lent season when we Christians commemorate Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection, the very reason for the Hope that we have as believers.