Daniel Fast – Day 0

I’m being prompted to do Daniel Fast for this coming two weeks.

The Daniel Fast is usually more challenging for me. I don’t eat a lot of vegetables. I don’t like the taste. I’m not exposed to as much fruit as I would like. Also, these foods are inaccessible to me. I don’t do groceries very often, and I don’t cook. I would sometimes let myself starve rather than prepare something to eat.

But still, I’m drawn to doing this fast. It might be supernatural. It might be something outside of myself. But the more I second guess, the more I am going to lose my will.

I will not delve into the historical and Biblical reasons of the Daniel Fast. I have been reading up on it for the past week, and there are a ton of resources online.

As for the food list, they are all mostly in agreement, with some changes here and there. In general, fruits and vegetables are the main idea. No meat and fish and poultry for sure.

Dairy is one of the gray areas. Some guides allow yogurt; some do not. For beverages, some say water only; some allow types of milk, like almond milk, or cashew milk.

All disallow coffee.

What I gather from all of these is that, I don’t want it to become too legalistic. I will follow my own conviction, basing it on the Biblical perspective, and always expecting God’s grace and mercy throughout. I will pray for His will to overpower mine, and for His thoughts to overtake my own, His Words to define exactly how this fast will go.

I will pray for the strength to push through any temptations, for there will be many. I will pray for the strength to power through when my self and my environment forces me to compromise. I will claim that in all circumstances, He is the one who is leading me, and therefore, He will be the one to pull me through.

Bring it on then. Let’s do this.

The hardest part of this fast might be giving up on coffee.

Coffee is such an integral part of my day. It wakes me up in the morning. It sets my daily routine. Sometimes I would just put my hands on my cup, resting my palms on the smooth curve of my big mug, and let the hot ceramic make biting tingles against my skin.

Coffee gives me a reason to take a break in the afternoon. It gives me a boost of energy during that difficult mid afternoon slump, when the clock hands seems to be slowing down, taunting me with every minute that I’m still at the office. Standing up to make my afternoon Java breaks up my day, it makes me more aware of the time.

Our office machine is more than just your average coffee maker. It’s one of the better Jura models. Also, it has very recently been cleaned and serviced, and with its inner machinery replaced with new parts, we were already expecting and excited for how much better our office brew was going to be.

Because our office coffee is brewed coffee. More than that, I have the liberty of choosing what flavour of beans we get. And make no mistake, I choose for taste and quality.

It’s more than just the caffeine, is what I’m saying. It’s my office culture; it’s my work lifestyle.

(I can actually smell it now. I can conjure up the aroma in my head — that fresh, heady coffee smell. Dark and roasted and toasted and strong. Coffeeeeee)

So then. Fasting.

The hot cup in my hands – I will replace this with hot water. The getting ready for work routine – my breakfast prep will have to do. My afternoon break – more hot water. I can even garnish it with lemon, for more of that wake up zing.

Because, if it’s easy, then everyone could do it. Because, there has to be an element of sacrifice in there somewhere. Because, if you’re not giving up something, then what’s the point of fasting. Because, what you gain afterwards will be sweeter, more satisfying. Because the entire experience, the journey, is a blessing in itself.

Ok then.

The second hardest part of this plan is figuring out what to eat.

I am a planner. I like to have things figured out in advance. Every trip I take is visualised down to the smallest detail. My budget is tracked all the way down to how often I can buy fancy coffee in a month. I have a separate calendar called “Meal Plans”, where every week I put down what I’ll be eating for breakfast and lunch.

So in deciding to go for the Daniel Fast, I’ve put myself in a confounding position of not knowing how to plan for it. I don’t cook, and I don’t like fruits and vegetables. What was I thinking again??

As I’ve said, I will not fall into the legalism trap where I criticise everything I put in my mouth. For my fast, I’ll be allowing some types of crackers, and other grey area foods like vinegar and soy sauce. Also, unsweetened Greek yogurt.

But other than that, I’m stumped. I don’t really know what else I can eat.

This is going to have to be a matter of not worrying. Matthew 6:26, and the birds in the air, and the flowers that grow, and all that.

Right. So.

#fasting #danielfast