“In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18, NKJV).
Two things are outstandingly important for us to give attention to as we settle back to our normal life after the fasting session. The first is to be sure that we copiously thank God for seeing us through the period of fasting. Whoever did it must have done it with the help of the Holy Spirit and as such we owe God thanksgiving. At the beginning some of us were not sure if they could endure it for the whole period. I actually encouraged someone to just start and go as far as she could. To the glory of God, she went all the way and fasted for 21days eating very little in the evenings. Several of us who were not sure they could make it actually made it to the end. Some fasted all through taking only water and occasionally little quantity of fruits. Many of us have testimonies of God’s grace as the sustaining power that saw us through. We have every reason to thank God with exuberant joy for hitting the finishing line. Alongside thanking God for His sustaining grace, we need also to thank Him for answered prayers. God gave us attention and met so many of us at the points of our needs. God’s faithfulness is forever dependable. We must celebrate Him for being so dependable a Father to all of us.
Devour the Word of God instead of material food at the end of a fasting session.
The second is that we must be vigilant for Satan’s backlash. It is in his nature to fight back to regain whatever grounds he must have lost during fasting. Recall that our Lord clearly taught that a combination of fasting and prayer is lethal to satanic influences and operations. When some of His apostles could not cast out the demon that was tormenting an epileptic and demanded from the Master why they failed. He blamed their failure on their little faith but then added, “However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17:21). It is not surprising therefore that Satan works hard to discourage believers from fasting. Where he fails to stop them from fasting, he tries to fight back as soon as the fasting is over to neutralize its effect. This was exactly the case with Jesus. “And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread”(Matthew 4:2-3). Immediately after his forty days and forty nights bout of fasting and prayer, Satan tempted Him with food. Have you not noticed that your attraction to food skyrockets after fasting? Don’t fall into the temptation. Eat as minimally as possible to keep your spirit vibrant and sharp. Our Lord resisted the devil and showed us the way to overcome him also.
Now that you have proved during the fasting that you can do without so much food, why not stay with that realisation the rest of your life. It will be a great boost to your spirit. Our Master revealed that the word of God is more sustaining than material food. He retorted to the devil: “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God”(Matthew 4:4). Here is the argument, if for forty days and forty nights our Lord did not eat material food but was sustained only by the word of God, Satan has no ground to brandish food before Him simply because He was hungry after a period of fasting. God wants us to learn to live by His word. Jeremiah testified about his satisfaction with the word of God: “Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts” (Jeremiah 15:16). The best time to devour the word of God instead of material food is at the end of a fasting session. Leave that food alone, at best, nibble at it, but devour the Word of God. Find time in the following months to fast and pray to keep yourself at the cutting edge of spiritual experiences in Jesus’ name.
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