Jacob Robertson

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.

Psalm 34:8

Growing up, I remember sitting in “big church” as I called it listening to the pastor talk about fasting. My young mind had a difficult time wrapping itself around the concept. “You’re telling me that I have to skip a meal today?” Even at an early age, my parents would encourage our family to fast from something for the sake of revival within our hearts. As a child I questioned the concept. As an adult and growing follower of Christ, I see the necessity and fruitfulness of fasting.

Twenty days ago I committed myself to fasting from all forms of social media. This seems minor and inconsequential after reading Matthew 4:1-11, does it not? Jesus fasted from food for forty days! However, the purpose of fasting is not to set a record but, as John Piper says, “…to express our ache for all the implications of Jesus’s power in the present moment.” When our “ache” becomes something other than for Jesus, fasting is crucial to realign our hearts with His.

When many people think about fasting they often think about abstaining from food for a certain period of time; a meal, several meals, or food for 24 hours. Fasting from food can certainly be an effective conduit for developing spiritual discipline and drawing closer to God. However, fasting does not have to be exclusive to food. For you, it may be TV. Or sodas. Or secular music. For me, it has been social media.

Social media is a relatively new thing for me having only created a FaceBook and Instagram account in 2019. Through some personal examination, I realized I was spending an inappropriate amount of time scrolling on these platforms. Social media was becoming slightly addictive, distracting, and time-consuming. I was substituting the connection I could have with God through reading Scripture and prayer as well as the connection experienced with actual people with an endless scrolling on my phone. It had become apparent to me that I needed to make some changes.

So, I made some changes. I completely removed those options from my phone. And have not accessed them in the last twenty days. My goal has been to replace all the time that was lost scrolling through FaceBook or Instagram with reading God’s Word and spending time in prayer. Specifically, the Scripture I have chosen to focus on throughout this period of fasting is Psalm 34:8. What has been the results? I have tasted and seen that the Lord is good! He has been faithful to return the joy of my salvation to my heart, realign my spirit with His, and bring peace and clarity to my mind. Fasting pushes me to the positive expression of prayer and exposes the negative expressions of my heart. This experience has shown me God’s faithfulness never waivers, only mine does.

I have twenty more days to go. And frankly, I intend to go well beyond that timeline as I’ve seen the removal of social media as a tremendous benefit to me for many reasons. Christ being my example, my heart is to obey the Father, resist temptation, and emphasize His power in my life. The heart of fasting is a longing for God. Will you take the challenge?