Growing up, I had heard of fasting, but it was made to sound like an ethereal spiritual practice that one attained only when they had reached a high level of spiritual greatness. I knew it was to only be done in secret and that the Lord did great things during a fast, but I had no idea how to even begin. And because of the secretive nature of it, no one ever explained it except to say fast but don’t tell anyone.

You can see how this subject might be more than a bit confusing for me. Then, this past year. I kept getting emails about a book detailing how to do a Sugar Fast. I have been trying to lose weight for years gained from a medical condition. But giving up sugar? And it wasn’t a week, it was 40 days. That is forever without sugar!!! The Lord had been prompting me to join the fast during the books launch period, but I kept saying no. How could I give up sugar for that long? Then, at the beginning of the year, the book’s author did a fast on Facebook with thousands of other women. This time, God wouldn’t allow me to say no.

But I will be honest, I was still confused. It is a FAST. No one is supposed to know, yet there is this huge community of women doing it together. So I messaged the author. And I asked her how do we do a fast with others and have it still be private?

Her explanation and then as I read the book made a lot of sense. We choose to fast because the Lord has called us to it. And fasting in community makes us stronger. We have people who encourage us when we are ready to give up. But the specific details of the fast are between you and God. So of the thousands of women doing the fast, probably not one of them did exactly the same thing. Some didn’t cut out sugar at all. They chose something else but used the time to really dig into God’s Word.

That is the point of a fast. Not what you are fasting from, but what you are feasting to. You are turning from something and turning to God. It is the theory of replacement. Anytime we take something out of our lives we must replace it or we will just go right back to what we were doing before. So, in this sugar fast, we cut out sugar, but when feeling physically hungry we spent time in God’s Word or in some form of time with Him.

I’ll admit, I didn’t get it right. I didn’t go the whole 40 days without sugar. And as I moved through the book, I learned a lot more about fasting than I ever had before. Not eating the sugar was good for me. But learning about fasting was so much more valuable. It isn’t for the spiritually elite. It is for everyone!

I am going to do the sugar fast again with another group of women. This time during the season of Lent, another one of those words I have always been afraid of. I truly thought only Catholics practiced Lent. However, as I learned, fasting turns our hearts towards God. Lent is the time before Easter preparing ourselves to be ready to immerse ourselves into the worship of the risen Son. I think it is appropriate to fast from something so that I have more time in the Word during these next few weeks.

The beautiful thing that happened for me with my sugar fast is that I didn’t do it alone. Yes, there was the big community on Facebook. But I shared about it on my personal page. The author had encouraged us to share, to give the gift of inviting one friend to do it with us. To my delight and utter disbelief, I had 60 women do the fast with me. We had our own accountability group with daily check ins and motivational posts. We supported one another.

For the season of Lent, if you choose to fast from something whether it be sugar, social media, chocolate, Netflix, anything you feel takes up your mental energy that you could be spending in communion with God, why don’t you invite others to share in a time of fasting with you? The fast is still personal between you and God. But fasting in community draws us closer together and encourages us as believers and also I believe allows God to work in mighty ways in our lives. We see what God is doing in our friends lives and feel encouraged to keep on in our own lives.

I am linking the Sugar Fast book I used as well as a devotional I am using for Lent.

The 40-Day Sugar Fast: Where Physical Detox Meets Spiritual Transformation https://www.amazon.com/dp/0801094577/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Y6.sEbAHZVVHH

Uncovering the Love of Jesus: A Lent Devotional https://www.amazon.com/dp/0802419496/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_V7.sEbFYC2Z20