Happy New Year! As the calendar flips over, there’s a deep desire for us all to start fresh into a new season of life. We can make lots of resolutions for the coming days, but if our deeper spirit isn’t ‘right’, healthier choices won’t make a difference after long. We’ll slide back into our old habits and find ourselves on that dusty old road of last year. I learned several years ago, the best thing I can do is set aside my agenda and seek God through the fast Daniel used during his time of mourning and needing direction. Each year, I’ve come out spiritually rich with wisdom and insight for the days ahead. The cleansing of my mind and heart is incomparable to any retreat or sum of Sundays.

If you’re seeking God’s direction for your life in the new year, consider Daniel- a man described in the Bible as having an ‘excellent spirit.’ He lived to glorify God with his life, no matter what it cost him. Daniel loved God and was unwavering in his commitment to serve Him. As a result, God gave him favor with king Nebuchadnezzar, which led to his promotion over the leaders in the land. But his commitment to God was tested as the others didn’t like that the king favored Daniel. So they manipulated the king to sign a decree that prohibited anyone from praying to any god other than the king for 30 days. Violating the decree meant being thrown into a den of lions. Daniel didn’t cave in to this decree, he was more concerned about keeping his commitment to God. In the end, God protected him and was glorified through it.

I want to encourage you to live with that same excellent spirit. Be determined to really live for God. As you do, you’ll fulfill your true purpose and glorify God in everything you do, just like Daniel. If you’ve never tried the Daniel fast, I would encourage you to in order to receive wisdom and the most incredible beginning to your new year as well. The fast consists of fruits, vegetables, and legumes (beans and nuts), and of course lots of water. Scripture identifies it as ‘anything sown by the seed’, which includes rice and Ezekiel bread amongst others. To prevent my heart from tainting the spiritual purpose with a weight loss program, I eat plenty of nuts, which are high in healthy fats. You may already eat pretty healthy and thus find this kind of ‘diet’ normal. If that’s the case, I would urge you to identify something to sacrifice to fulfill the purpose of this fast. I’m choosing to abstain from rice, Ezekiel bread and black coffee. There is a perceived power our physical hunger has over us, so the sacrifice is important!

I can say in my life that, by far, the most satisfying things that have happened to me are during these moments of fasting when I sensed I had done as the Lord wanted me to do. When I attempt to satisfy self apart from doing the will of God, initially it feels good, but inevitably is a frustrating, empty and discouraging thing. Be careful during this time not to compromise your surroundings. Fasting makes us more vulnerable in situations to sin, as the devil is bringing everything he has to cause us to stray. This is a time to increase your worship and prayer as your mind and heart will be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. When you’re tempted to fall, put your mind on this truth: fasting is not about what you’re giving up, but what you are gaining.

There is a sense that physically satisfying myself in some way keeps me from needing to find satisfaction in God. So we’re left with this question: Am I satisfying myself with that which is not bread and that which is not meat, as well as other things that really don’t fill my soul? Is anything hindering my hunger for God? Is it money? Opportunities? Work? Friendships? Identifying those hindrances is the purpose of fasting. We have to recognize our enslavement to food, or anything that deadens our hunger for God.

1 Peter 2:11 “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.” When we fast, enslavement to things of the flesh is broken and we are freed to focus our hunger upon what we really need. Fasting reveals the things that control us. It humbles us and shows us our true selves.

Father, help me to fast, and use it to show me the things I am unaware of that control me. I want all of my hunger to be focused on You and satisfied only by You. Lord, instill an ‘excellent spirit’ in me, so that I may serve You unwaveringly in all that I do. Remove the scales from my eyes, open the channels in my ears, grant me direction for this life I give to you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.