So they gathered to Mizpah, and drew water and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day and said there, “We have sinned against the LORD.” And Samuel judged the sons of Israel at Mizpah. 1 Samuel 7:6
“Your humility and interior abasement will supply for all the dispositions that you lack; and the privation of all sensible fruit will be amply compensated for by the courage and abandonment with which you bear yourself in the ways by which God leads you. Your illness and the rule of life it compels you to follow are the best penance you could have. You are afraid of pleasing yourself in this state of suffering by not fasting? Foolish fear! Rather be afraid of being wanting in interior abnegation while following your own ideas. Obey your doctor blindly: God requires this of you, whereas He certainly does not ask you to fast. Offer Him, as often as you are able, your illness, its consequences, and your fears; but only in your heart, quietly; recollecting that you must will all that God wills.”
Jean-Pierre de Caussade in Abandonment to Divine Providence (Grand Rapids: CCEL, 1751) 378.
Notice the picture of emptying that accompanies fasting in the biblical text. In Journey of Empowerment (JOE) at GTP we say that fasting is “setting aside our desires” so it’s more than skipping a meal or two.
It’s, as Jean-Pierre describes it, “interior abasement” to make sure we are not “wanting in interior abnegation.” If that sounds like a lot of big words, let me simplify it.
Generosity flows from transformed hearts. Fasting is a discipline that Jesus invites us to practice to position our hearts for transformation. He does not force it on us but invites us there.
He invites us to let go of what is good to grasp something better that will satisfy. And yet, fear stops us from making this quiet journey. So, today, I beckon you to pour out before the Lord that which you think you need to sustain you and see what happens.
And like gathering at Mizpah, register for the Lent JOE by clicking here.
Though the deadline is passed, we can fit you in. There are 153 people from 36 countries registered so far. Whether or not you register, make the Lenten journey to be sure you are not “wanting in interior abnegation.”