BY Argie Simonis
Fasting does not give us extra strength with God, but as Jesus said in Matthew 17:20-21 (that we commented in a previous message "The power of fasting"), fasting and prayer drive away a certain kind of unbelief and doubt.
The influence that comes from our natural senses is not a sin in itself, but it can lead us into sin if it affects our heart more than what God says.
Today we will look at the fasting of Jesus:
"Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil." Matt. 4:1
There was a reason the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness. If Jesus who was sinless had to subdue his flesh, how much more must we do so in order to be able to cope with the spiritual battle we face every day?
"And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was afterward an hungered." Matt. 4:2
Two of the three temptations of the devil began with, "If thou be the Son of God," that is to question who He was.
Jesus from childhood knew His true identity and what His mission was. At the age of twelve He amazed the teachers of the Law in Jerusalem with His wisdom and told His parents that He must be about His Father's business (Luke 2:46-49).
Satan was trying to get Jesus to prove His identity, and if Jesus fell into his trap it would have been in itself a sign of doubt and He would have sinned.
So we too must know who we are and what we can do in Christ:
"I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me." Phil. 4:13
The devil is always trying to make us doubt our true identity and will try to make us identify ourselves with our actions, our mistakes and our failures, and not with who we are in spirit. We need to remember that the Lord looks at the heart and not the outward appearance and He does not see our mistakes as a failure, but as a lesson that will help us become better.
"And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season." Luke 4:13
In other words, the devil used everything he had against Jesus. He has neither unlimited power nor unlimited tricks. His tactics are always the same and he uses them in three main areas:
"Τhe lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life..." 1John 2:16
It is certain that the fasting and the temptations exhausted Jesus both physically and emotionally. But God was with Him and angels strengthened Him:
"And Ηe was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Ηim." Mark 1:13
After this trial Jesus returned strengthened and ready to proceed in His ministry and complete the plan that God had for Him. This whole story gives us an illustration of our own lives as well. Fasting should be an essential part of our walk with the Lord. It trains us and prepares us to walk with victory in the call that the Lord has on our lives. When we fast we are not alone, but the angels of the Lord strengthen us. If we cannot subdue our own flesh, how will we be able to deal with all these demonic forces that Paul describes in Eph. 6?
The prophet Jeremiah says:
"If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with horses?" Jeremiah 12:5
With these thoughts in our hearts we continue the 7th day of fasting with the certainty that we will have our reward from the Lord.
Amen 🙏
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A word I received:
"Blessed are the eyes which see the things that you see:
For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which you see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which you hear, and have not heard them." Luke 10:23-24
The Lord will give revelation and vision to those who show faithfulness and remain in prayer, fasting and seeking Him.
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