To eat or not to eat?

The Lord just graced me with some revelation on fasting.

First of all, it's hard to fast. That little tidbit is not from the Lord, but from my flesh that is screaming, "FEED ME, SEYMOUR!" It is hard to say "no" to our flesh, after so many years of saying "yes". It is extremely hard, but the Lord is so gracious, and "will not allow [me] to be tempted beyond what [I am] able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that [I] may be able to bear it" (1 Cor. 10:13). In this case, the 'way of escape' is to feed my spirit with the Word.

When we voluntarily decide to say "no " to our flesh we are literally starving it and giving the spirit man a chance to take the driver's seat. I find it funny that I just referenced "Little Shop of Horrors" above (for all you 80's or Broadway fans), because it is the perfect example of what happens when we feed our flesh. When we feed the flesh it gets more greedy and wants more. After a while of saying "yes" to the flesh, it becomes an unruly monster and must be tamed.

So, my flesh has been rearing its ugly head. It's all I can do to keep from chewing my nails off (and I'm not a nail-biter). While reading James, the Lord highlighted a verse, which is very timely, since I've been asking Him to give me grace (and the understanding of His grace),

But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. -James 4:6-7

When we fast, we humble ourselves, and when we humble ourselves further and say, "God, I cannot do this without you!," He comes and gives us grace. Then we get the added benefit of being able to tell the devil to get lost and he has to because we are covered by the Blood. And, it is good for me to endure temptation, because it also says,

Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. -James 1:12

All of the above to was not necessarily the revelation that the Lord gave me. It is this, that each time we say "no" to temptation, we make it easier on ourselves when we face temptation the next time around. When we can truly learn to overcome temptation to easy things like food and yummy, fru-fru Starbucks drinks, then we will be able to look down the barrel of a gun in our face and say "yes" to Jesus. For this is what we are being prepared for my friends. I hope that in that day when my faith is really tested, when I am being persecuted unto death, that I will be able to say "no" to the temptation to save my earthly life and deny Christ.

Yes, I will say "no" to a Chick-fil-A sandwich today to be able to say "yes" to Jesus tomorrow.