Forty Days Later
…fasting is the secret key that unlocks heaven’s door and slams shut the gates of hell.
- Jentezen Franklin, “Fasting”
I have never refrained from anything for 40 days before.
I’ve never given up anything during the 40 days of Lent.
Never.
Have I fasted?
Yes…partial fasts, having gone vegetarian for a week, or the occasional workday fast wherein I’ve chosen not to eat during the working day. I’ve also fasted from blogging as well - typically for a week at a time, and usually as part of a church-wide week of prayer and fasting.
But this time, I sensed the need to go longer…to fast from online social media like blogging, Facebook, and Twitter. I saw the hold that this technology held on me when I began this fast, and I didn’t like what I saw about myself. I also found myself drifting a bit in faith, and knew that by giving up online social media I would have more time to focus on my faith and my family.
I have to admit, it was a bit of a struggle the first week not blogging, not reading Facebook, not updating my Twitter feed. I battled the need to always be in the know, or the need to come up with some really clever tweet or status update. I did, however, find myself reading assorted resources about social media from both sides of the divide: from those who believe that online social media is not real community to those who believe that it is a new form of community (I’ll discuss this in a future post). I spent more time in the Bible and in prayer, tried to be more intentional about the time spent with my wife and kids, in addition to time spent with friends locally, and reading quite a bit more than I had.
So what did I discover?
1) I was able to hear God’s voice in my life with greater clarity. That doesn’t mean that I heard this booming voice from above, but rather I could sense an impression on my heart, confirmed typically by others unsuspecting of the answers to prayer that I had been seeking.
2) One of the “impressions” I got was to spend more time with Hank. While I have been spending time with him coaching baseball, I hadn’t spent a lot of one-on-one time with him. I purchased and read “Raising a Modern Day Knight” at the suggestion of a fellow brother, and as a result, I now spend time with him each evening reading a chapter of the Bible (we’re reading Exodus together), discussing each chapter, discipling him in faith on his journey to manhood.
3) I have spent the better part of the past 40 days reading, re-reading, and praying through Ephesians 5:21-33. How can I love my wife sacrificially, the way Jesus loves His church? Too often men stop reading after verse 22 - but the fact is that there are three times as many instructions for husbands (9 verses for husbands, 3 verses for wives) than there are for wives in that passage - so who’s got more work to do in their marriages? I know I don’t always get this right, but I know that if I am to be the husband that God has called me to, this is how I am to love my wife. And I want my son to one day love his wife sacrificially.
4) For several weeks I had been meeting with 2 other men in my church for accountability early on Thursday mornings. We shared our struggles and challenges, but as we talked, we got the sense that more men needed this kind of relationship. So what began with 3 of us has now doubled in size (and may continue to grow in number) as men from our church come together every Thursday morning at a local coffeeshop to discuss the prior week’s sermon message and challenge each other to apply those principles in our lives. The first time that newer faces came to our group, we saw instant transparency - clearly a confirmation that more men needed to be in these kind of relationships to become the men that Jesus has called us to be.
Those are but a few of the things that occurred while I was away - more to share in coming days and weeks. In the meantime, one final and very cool thing to share - Hank’s baseball team, the team I coach - has advanced in the playoffs. Big game tonight - winner moves on, losing team goes home!
It’s good to be back. Thanks for your prayers.
6 Responses to “Forty Days Later”
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By R. Sherman, June 9, 2009 @ 6:22 am
Re: Discovery #1
There’s a reason God enjoins us to “be still and know that I am God.” The distractions of the modern age, while amusing occasionally, can become tools of the enemy to prevent us from hearing God’s voice. Every cell phone call, every e-mail, every tweet diverts our attention to something other than what He may wish us to be pondering.
Welcome back, btw.
Cheers.
By Will Robison, June 9, 2009 @ 7:55 am
I still say Twitter is the Pet Rock of the 2000’s. Soon people will wonder what the heck they ever saw in this fad.
But I digress… welcome back, my brother! I will see you and Hank tonight!
Good luck!
By Andy, June 9, 2009 @ 9:25 am
Randall - I’ve had more than a few of those moments of stillness during these 40 days, and they’ve been good.
Will - some future posts will include thoughts on Twitter and where it can be valuable - look forward to seeing you at the game!
It’s good to be back - thanks guys.
By David Lamb, June 9, 2009 @ 1:12 pm
Perhaps I’m a slow writer, but I bet it could have easily taken me an hour or more to write as long and as thoughtful an essay as you did in this post, Andy. It’s that time element that makes blogging seem like more trouble than it’s worth to me. I see in your post that getting that time back had some great dividends for you.
On the other hand, the discipline of expressing yourself, even if only a few times a week, can pay dividends as well. You find out what you think when you write about your thoughts. It leads to an examined life, which has to be good in some way.
I always appreciate what you have to say in your blog, Andy, even when I don’t post a reply.
By MizB, June 10, 2009 @ 5:16 am
Hey, Andy — welcome back! And, congratulations on going a whole 40 days without media! That’s a tough thing to do, I’m sure (I haven’t ever done such, but feel that maybe I should at some point — the computer has a huge hold on my life, and I suffer when I have to go without it… so sad!). I give you huge credit for staying away for that long! Good job! (and, yes, I know it had a lot to do with God’s help! LOL)
Seems like you really learned a lot from your fast! ;)
~MizB
By Andy, June 10, 2009 @ 5:45 am
Dave, thanks for those words. The time I got back, especially away from Twitter and FB, made a huge difference. It also helped me realize how much I enjoy writing when I make the time for it.
MizB, I’d encourage you to give it a try (maybe not 40 days), but I’ve found that the time away has given me a chance to break the old habits.