Day 29: Fasting and the Humble Soul

Opening Scripture

Joel 2:12 (NIV)

12 “Even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.”

Devotional Reflection

Today, we turn our attention to fasting—the practice of abstaining from food for a period of time for the purpose of prayer, repentance, and devotion. In the early church, believers commonly fasted on Fridays. Their calendar differed from ours, as a new day began at sunset. Friday began at sunset on Thursday evening and continued until sunset on Friday.

They fasted in remembrance of Christ being arrested, falsely accused, flogged, and ultimately crucified. This fast was intended to remind them of their sin and the necessity of Christ’s death to cover it. It also reminded them that Christ willingly chose to die out of love for them. For this reason, fasting is often referred to in Scripture as the practice of humbling the soul or afflicting the soul.

In the church today, fasting is often practiced as a form of self-denial—training ourselves to die to our own agendas and desires in order to serve God’s purposes. Yet we must be careful not to miss fasting’s original intention. At its heart, fasting is an act of repentance. We remember our sinfulness. We grieve the ways our choices have wounded our Lord. Out of this penitence, gratitude begins to rise.

We give thanks to God for sending His Son. We give thanks to Christ for willingly giving His life in our place. Holding together the reality that we do not deserve God’s love and the truth that Christ chose to die for us draws us more deeply into devotion.

It is easy to take the Lord’s love and sacrifice for granted. Messages of His love surround us through sermons, songs, and familiar Scripture. But if we forget how we have treated our Lord, we miss the depth of His love. It is only through honest acknowledgment of our sinfulness that we can fully appreciate the cross.

Paul captures this contrast powerfully when he reminds us that, while it is rare for someone to die even for a good person, Christ chose to die for us while we were still sinners.

Romans 5:7–8

⁷ Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (NIV)

To give one’s life for a faithful spouse is noble. To die for a stranger is rare. But to die for someone who has repeatedly betrayed you stretches our imagination. Scripture often describes sin as spiritual adultery. We are the unfaithful ones, yet Christ chose the cross anyway.

When we fast, we humble ourselves before God with a gratitude that can only come from remembering both our sin and His love. In that place of honesty and repentance, God draws us nearer. Our devotion deepens—not out of fear, but out of love.

The Examen

1. What has fasting—or the idea of fasting—revealed about my dependence on comfort, control, or routine?

2. Where might God be inviting me to greater humility, repentance, and gratitude through intentional self-denial?

Lectio Divina Scripture

Isaiah 58:6 (NIV)

6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?”

Read the passage out loud slowly several times. With each reading, emphasize a different word or phrase. Notice what stands out and why.

Prayer Prompt

Lord, humble my soul before You. Teach me to fast not only with my body, but with my heart—turning away from sin and toward gratitude for the love You showed me on the cross. Draw me nearer through repentance and devotion. Amen.