The Daniel Fast

So The Daniel fast is a 21 day fast that is centered around Daniel’s diet. We abstained from all animal products (no meat), dairy, leavened bread, sugar, and caffeine. So we basically became very strict vegans while on this fast. This is the testimony of my journey through it and what happened. 

Disclaimer. This post is in no way intended to lift myself up on a pedastool for completeing this fast but rather to glorify God for the things that he did, showed me, and prepared me for. Glory be to him for everything. 

Its kinda sad that I have to include that but, with how quick christians use their sharp tounges, it is kinda necessary. Now back to the nitty gritty. 

Originaly, I had planned on starting this fast with my family on the 1st of January and finishing it while up here in Abilene. Then I discovered that UBC would be doing it as a church and decided that I would pick up with them on the 9th and finish when they did. Overall, it turned into a 30 day fast for me.

I will admit, this fast started out as a way to loose weight mainly, and maybe grow closer to God and with my family but God quickly dissolved that. As a church we read through the book of John (21 chapters) and that helped put things back into perspective. Little did I know what God had instore for me. So here it goes. 

Prayer. Lets be real, I struggle with reading my bible. A LOT. Its not easy and its a discipline that I have been trying to perfect for a long time. Its hard! Well this fast helped with that. And I admit, as I write this I still have a couple of chapters to catch up on, I will finish it and continue with a new reading plan. This goes along with prayer as well. Something else that is a constant struggle for me. I get easily caught up in praying for things or when things are rough and not praying for other people, or just to talk to God. So dumb, but this fast helped get me back on track. 

Focus. Holy cow I have never been tested for ADD but after seeing how my focus has changed in a month, I swear I might have it. The focus that I have had for the start of this semester has been off the charts. It could be that I havent been pumping my body with preservatives and crap but still, it has been awesome to sit through a 3 hour class and not get distracted hardly at all.

Aside from studious focus, I have had a new focus for what matters. Christ and his love being shown through me, being real even in the face of adversity, relationships and how I can make them better, and worship. God has torn down idols in my life that were hindering me from being a better man of God. Although it is a constant battle, a war is being raged against sin. The want to rule over my life completely is being attacked as I write but though my heart and flesh fail me, my God is all that I need and he will give me peace. 

Self control. Who knew I had so much self control in me. And heaven knows that I definitely didnt do it on my own. If you know me well, you know I LOVE food. Obviously because I used to weigh 235ish lbs. There were so many times that I wanted to eat bread or sugar but I refrained. One time, I went to Denny’s, with 2 friends of mine, and watched them eat a burger and an omelette. That was so difficult. God brought people in to my life, namely Brittany Baker, that made this fast so much easier. Doing it in community with someone else to have accountability and lift each other up was amazing. Who wouldve thought that that is how the Christian life should look like. Too bad it took 30 days of being a vegan to figure that out. 

I have yet to do something this crazy in terms of a fast but it was so rewarding. Especially starting off 2012 like this. I am excited to see what God has in store for me personally, and for UBC as a community of Christ followers. And since I know people want to know how much weight I have lost through this, I now weigh 215. I was at least 235 at the start of this fast. Its pretty cool to see the benefits of being faithful both spiritually and physically. But then again, everything is spiritual. ;)

So thats it. Both physical and spiritual growth all from becoming a vegan. Question, comments, concerns, or threats?

1 year ago  /  1 note