What I learned on this 30+ day social media & food fast
I felt pressed to start this year off fasting from social media to seek the Lord on some things concerning my personal life, social media, business, and ministry. I needed clarity and direction. I didn't want to go in 2022 acting on my own will, so I decide to join my church's 21 Day Daniel Fast and partnered it with fasting from social media as well. I try to take social media breaks often because I know how beneficial they are in my walk with the Lord when growing up in this social media age. My fast ended up lasting longer than I planned, which is amazing. After doing the Daniel Fast and messing up a few times, I called it quits a few days early and felt the Lord so strongly telling me to complete the Esther fast a few days after I ended the Daniel Fast. I'm going to go into more detail later about all of that, but I can't explain to you how revived I feel! Tuning out of the distractions of the world allows you to hear the voice of God clearer. Not only do you hear him better but His presence is evident.
The first thing I noticed immediately was how our flesh can rule over our lives when we're not crucifying it on a regular basis. Within the first 3 days I experienced severe headaches, cravings, and I was itching to scroll on my phone. We think we have control over ourselves, but fasting exposing your true spiritual condition. Some of us may think we're doing well but when you fast things that you need deliverance from rise to the surface. On the food aspect of this fast, I didn't realize how the smallest things like coffee and my food choices had such a stronghold over me. Most of the time while fasting I was counting down the days until this it's over. I found myself day dreaming about all the food I couldn't eat constantly: chocolate, cheese, sweets, pasta, chicken, steak. After a while I felt conviction because the whole point of fasting is to draw near to God. While fasting, when the hunger pains come or you begin to crave something that's when you open up your word and eat on the word of God instead and HIS word fills you up. I struggled with this for the first week or so, and God exposed to me that food is my master. No, literally. The whole time I was craving coffee and kept saying I couldn't wait until I could get one. The moment I ended the fast I bought a coffee and I didn't even enjoy it. And then I remembered that I don't even drink coffee anymore nor do I like the way it makes me feel. My flesh was so sure that I needed coffee and craved it badly and the moment I get it I don't even want it. It's sad that I spent more time thinking about food more than I did anything else. In fact, it's sinful. We don't realize that we answer to our flesh's every demand. When our flesh tells us to get pizza, we answer to it. When our flesh tells us to call our toxic ex, we answer to it. When our flesh wants to not go workout, we answer to it. When our flesh tells us to scroll on social media for 5 hours straight, we answer to it. Some of these things sound so small, but if we can't control our flesh with the small things such as food, how can we be control it with bigger things? What fasting does is it forces you to take your feelings to the Father instead of food. I didn't realize that when I was sad or feelings anxious I ran to food to comfort me instead of the Lord.
Fasting forces you to take your feelings to the Father instead of food.
So many things came to the surface: my silent temper tantrums when I don't get my way, my unhealthy relationship with food, my lack of self-discipline, and my need to constantly be entertained. Let's talk about social media. It never ceases to amaze me that when I take a break from social media just how much time I actually have in a day to accomplish things. I waste most of my day scrolling and scrolling. I don't realize that all of this information that I'm consuming heavily contributes to how I think and live my life. I don't think most of us realize that instagram becomes people's reality. When you make it a priority to step away you're able to live in the moment and not let social media influence you in any way, shape, or form. Your mind becomes clearer, your thoughts are quieter, your days are sweeter. God showed me while doing the 3 day no food fast that a lot of habits I formed was for an instagram aesthetic. Sometimes the thought of have an aesthetically pleasing routine to show on instagram and YouTube motivated me more than just simply wanting a routine for the sake of my mental, spiritual, and physical health. It should be the other way around. We don't ever want to to get to a place when our niche/aesthetic subconsciously becomes apart of our identity over our identity in Christ You really have to know who you are in Christ in order to not be swayed by this world. Another thing God reminds me of while fasting is that you don't always have to share everything you're learning with the world. I love how I'm sharing with you what I learned while fasting while typing that lol. Remember that the enemy is intentional about allowing what we see and hear on social media to play on our emotions, mind, and will. Not every post you see is for you. We have to get to a place where the Holy Spirit's voice is so loud that we can scroll we know what's for us and what's not. Whats sound and whats not. One of the best things God showed me was the we don't have to feed off of everyone else's revelations. If you're a believer in Jesus, you have the same Holy Spirit as your pastor or that christian influencer you follow. Shut your phone off, open your word, and that book will come alive like never before. God speaks to you and me just as much as he does a prophet, apostle, preacher, etc. There's nothing better than reading the word of God and God speaking to you concerning His word.
I cherish the intimacy the I get with the Lord when I intentionally shut off the things of the world to seek Him. I came into this fast with a list of my requests; one of them being that He would re-kindle the fire that I once had in me. I felt it dwindling and needed to be refreshed. God answered. There were so many things I had in mind for Him to do for me, but I ended up just wanting more of Him.
So, I encourage you to take time to seek the Father!
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