Jesus is the healer of all. He tells us often of His divine role and position in the healing
of all mankind. He speaks of the
healing in his wings. He instructs
us that if we will come unto him, He will heal us; He will give us rest.
I have wondered how very seriously I took His entreaty to
come to Him and He would welcome me in as a mother hen did when she gathered
her chicks?[1] Did I really believe I could come into
His presence, did I honestly believe that He would be the one to heal me?
I have been indoctrinated plenty by the western medical
society I have dwelt in. I have
been carted off to the hospital a time or two. Was I prepared to trust the words of the Master and Great
Creator? Was I willing to put aside the notions and worldly applications? Was I willing to relinquish my reaching
hand to the arm of flesh? Was I ready or desirous enough to trust in God, not
my doctor, or a therapist, or herbs and healthy eating, but in Christ himself.
I was not certain, but at least I was being honest with my
feelings of concern. Honesty with our feelings make their way to the surface
when we fast. There is no veil to
your feelings. Fasting helps in
the process because it weakens the flesh, and thereby strengthens the spirit
within.[2] I needed that strength. I wanted it desperately. I was willing to fast to receive it.
In my desire to grow closer to the Savior and to be filled
with His love, peace, joy, and the healing promised from him, fasting became
the tool to remedy the distance between me and my Beloved. My quest became as an unquenchable
thirst.
I found hope in reading of others who had communed with the Lord
regarding the fast and its mighty power.
Fasting is the starving
out of self. It may not always be
by food-abstinence. But it is an
absolute essential of progress in the life with Me.[3]
Another friend shared with me an experience from her inquiry
to the Lord regarding the fast.
Instead of believing the phrase, “Give
until it hurts”, how much better is the idea of “give until you rejoice”? The
same is true of the fast. If your
body cannot go without food, or if you cannot hit that feeling of rejoicing by
going without food, then it is time to look at other options. Even if a person fasts without food and
struggles and never hits the rejoicing stage, the offering is accepted but
lacks power to change.
This principle is true in every phase of
life. In school we were
conditioned to do acceptable work rather than powerful work and so many people
have carried this concept into every aspect of their life.
The key to power in a fast is not the
suffering, but the rejoicing! And
rejoicing only comes through the worship of the Savior when fasting. Thus food deprivation can work—it is an
option—but so are millions of other offerings.[4]
Fasting began to take on even greater proportions as I
realized that not only was I giving up my selfish desires, but that I was going
towards rejoicing. How thrilled I
became from the prospect, and the resulting effects of fasting. Not only could I fast often, but in so
many other ways I had not know were possible.
What other ways do you fast?
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