Sabbath #4: I'm Not Hungry

Looking back over the last 3 Sabbaths, the thing that was at the forefront was food; more specifically is was my wanting to eat food, but not being able to do so. This Sabbath I focussed on not focussing on the food. Rather I would start focusing on what really mattered.

Eating

While sometimes we say we are going to do something, only to fail miserably, I actually succeeded, with some much needed help from above, in not being hungry for the majority of the Sabbath. While I was a little bit hungry, it was no more than I would have been feeling had I actually eaten.

It seams like every time I sit down to a meal during the Sabbath (a meal that I can't partake of), people apologize for the fact that they are eating. This does not help me in the slightest in holding back my urge to eat; it actually makes it worse. It highlights the fact that I am not eating. Rather I want people to be eating all the more voraciously, and to appreciate the food that they are eating. If I can't eat, you guys might as well eat and not feel sorry for me.

Feasting

One of the spiritual disciplines that I'm finding I am learning a lot about is feasting. Feasting is pretty much the exact opposite of fasting, but they both have the same goal, appreciation. Feasting is the partaking something, a meal for instance, in recognition of all the blessings that God has given us, and to enjoy it all the more because it is a gift from God; fasting is not partaking some, a meal for instance, to show us all the blessings that God has given us, and to enjoy them all the more when we are able to partake of them because they are gifts from God. Fasting and feasting can work hand in hand. What better time to have a feast then when you have just finished fasting? While I have been eating a large meal upon the completion of each Sabbath, I will now take part in feasting while I eat that meal. It is for this same reason that I ask the rest of you to eat all the more voraciously while I can't; because you should be appreciating the gifts that God has given you.

Bible Reading

Last Sabbath, I didn't do any Bible reading, so this Sabbath I made it a point to do some. This Sabbath I focused my efforts on 1 Peter. I had read a little bit of it before, actually one of my favorite Bible verses is 1 Peter 1:15-16 "But just as he who called you is holy, so be hole in all you do; for it is written; "Be holy, because I am holy." (the explanation for why this is my favorite is too long to write here, so if you are curious, come and ask me) In 1 Peter, it talks about living for God and not being afraid to suffer for God and what you believe. The one thought that I had is:

What would it look like if we were so full of the Holy Spirit that we were doing things that caused us to suffer? Not bringing suffering upon ourselves for suffering's sake. Rather that by being so fully immersed in the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to work in, and through us, that we would actually cause the world to start persecuting us if they wanted to try and stop the Spirit from working?

It's a crazy idea to yearn for suffering, one that I hope to explore in the coming weeks.