Reflection on Freedom Fast

This past week on Friday I completed my third Freedom Fast for International Justice Mission.  The goal of Freedom Fast is to give up either food or something else of importance for 24 hours as we reflect on our love of God as well as reflect on the needs of those trapped in Modern Day Slavery.  There is an importance of fasting for a growing relationship with God.  There are verses throughout the Bible that discuss the importance of fasting such as, “But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”  Fasting should not be done just to serve as creating an image of a good Christian but rather done as a way to grow closer to God.  This serves as a reminder that God is our main source of energy and main source of strength, not the food or the things that are a part of this world.  This is even why, Jesus, chose to fast for forty days, even though he was God and perfect.  

There are many people who don’t have access to food everyday.  They are essentially fasting from food everyday without the choice of abstaining from food.  There are those who are trapped in either a sex industry, working industry such as fish or brick making, where they are not allowed to have food for a certain amount of time.  Giving up food for one day, which may only be a part of what some have to experience, gives us an opportunity to be more empathetic towards those who have to experience this in their reality everyday.  There is even a verse that discusses the importance of fasting being connected with fighting for justice.  This is in Isaiah 58:6.  “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to lose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?” There was a justice chosen with the sole purpose of fighting for injustice as it is such a heart connection.  

I won’t lie when I say that I wasn’t the most focused when it came to this Freedom Fast.  The event landed on some days when I seemed really busy and had a lot of events going on. It was supposed to land on Friday night to Saturday night, but then Saturday I had a wedding and I certainly didn’t want to fast while I was going to a wedding.  Therefore, I decided to start the fast early, but that night I went on a pep bus to go to the Friday night football game for my student’s playoff game.  Even though I gave up food, my heart wasn’t completely focused on the idea of praying and fasting for those in need the whole time. I was more distracted by talking with friends and students as well as the freezing cold air that we were watching the game in.  

Before I began my fasting, I was thinking about how to best work out and still complete my work out without getting dizzy.  Essentially I was thinking real hard about how to still complete my day to day activities while also abstaining from food.  I didn’t want to give up working out, hanging out with friends, etc. While that in and of itself isn’t a bad thing, at night I realized that I was so so blessed that I have a choice of when to give up food. Even though this technically was an event that was run by others, I still had the choice to change the time of my fasting to a time that was more convenient for myself.  There are those who are trapped in modern day slavery that don’t have the ability to pick when they will give up food or when they have to abstain from water or other nutrients.  They just are deprived of those needs.  Then most of them are still required to complete heavy workloads even when they are not fully fulfilled with their needs to complete work properly.  

I know that God appreciates my efforts to remember those in need and to dedicate some time and energy to giving up food in a fast meant to honor both himself and those in slavery.  I know that he doesn’t want to criticize and mark down how well I am fasting or not.  I understand that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t give it our all, but God I know is not ready to remind us of all the ways that we have done something wrong.  My efforts, money, and prayer that I did give  for this Fast for Freedom and those who are stuck in modern day slavery will benefit those in the world.   My main point is that next time I complete a fast, I shouldn’t worry about making this so convenient for myself.  It shouldn’t just be about what works the best for me.  It should be an actual giving of something hard in order to show glory to God and in this particular case to really become empathetic with those who don’t have a choice of when or when not to eat.  It can be a hard thing to do, but fasting, particularly fasting for fighting for those injustices, is important.