Fast in Secret
Fast in Secret. We continue our series of devotion on the Words of Christ with Christ's words from Matthew 6 regarding fasting. Fasting is to be seen only by God.
16
“Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad
countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men
to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18
so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who
is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward
you openly.
Matthew 6:16-18, NKJV
Fast in Secret
There is no doubt that the Lord Jesus certainly understands our natures when He said, "When you fast, do it secretly!" He so understands our propensity to declare our godliness loudly so that all may understand how very spiritual we are!
All too often, we are just like the Pharisees. After all, what good was
it to go to all the discomfort of fasting if no one knew what you were
doing. Rather, they would go about revealing their great distress at how
uncomfortable it was to fast, so that everyone would understand how
godly they were.
Christ was not impressed! Neither is He impressed at our tendency to
display our great spirituality before others. If we are memorizing
Scripture, we want to tell everyone. If we read and study our Bibles
every day, we want to make sure that all of our Christian friends know
what we are doing. And if we actually take the time to fast, which is
extremely rare in our day, we most certainly want our Christian friends
to know what a great sacrifice we are making for God.
Again and again, from the words of Christ we understand that
Christianity is not about outward displays of our character, but rather,
Christianity is a religion of the heart. In our heart of hearts, before
God Himself, where do we stand? Is God impressed with our spirituality?
Is God impressed with the amount of time we spend studying His Word or
praying to Him?
As a Christian mother, one of my greatest goals was to impress upon my
children that it was not my approval they needed. They needed to live
every moment understanding that Jesus was right there beside them. If
their actions pleased Him, then they did not have to worry about whether
I would be pleased or not. It was not my approval, but rather God's
approval they needed to gain.
How different might our Christian influence be on those around us if all
believers took these words to heart. We do not serve God so that those
around us will be impressed. We serve God because we love Him so very
much that we want to please and obey Him in all we do!
That is the very message that the Pharisees missed. They were ever so
concerned about what the people thought of them, but they flagrantly
ignored the words of Jesus. His very life and testimony was a slap in
their face. They did not want a servant in their Messiah--they only
wanted a civil king who would overthrow Rome and put them in the seat of
power.
May we, as the people of God, turn our hearts and minds to Christ. Let
us pray that He will give us the strength and power to ignore the
attitudes and pressures of this world and seek only to serve and obey
Him. Just as Christ has given so much to us, may we turn our hearts in
complete submission and service to Him!
Let us fast in secret that we may gain the eternal rewards of God our Father!
Devotional Reflections from the Bible
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