The First Rule of Fast Club

Hunger has a way of speaking louder than you expect. But hunger wasn’t the only lesson waiting for me.

Shortly after I began my 72-hour fast, I picked up my first book on spiritual fasting and immediately learned something that made me laugh with mild embarrassment. I wasn’t supposed to announce my fast. There it was, right in the opening chapters, drawing from Matthew 6:

Matthew 6:17-18—“But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

Turns out, the first rule of Fast Club is you don’t talk about Fast Club!

And there I was, just a day earlier, writing a whole blog post about it.

Oops.

I’m still learning my way as I go. So next time, it will be just between me and God.

But here’s what I can share.

Fasting stretched me. Not just physically, though the hunger was sharp, especially in the last few hours. Spiritually, it forced me to confront how addicted I am to noise, input, and distraction.

I didn’t conquer everything I set out to do. I gave in on screens to cope. But I stayed obedient in other ways, and I realized something important: I can do hard things. More than that, doing what I ought to do, not just what feels easy, is part of what it means to be a man. That is the kind of character I want to model for my son.

There were no dramatic revelations or loud answers from God, but every time my stomach growled, I reached for Scripture and poured out love in prayer. That became the heart of my fast. I know this was only a first step, but it is something I plan to build on.

Next time I fast, you won’t hear about it, but hopefully I will be quietly learning and growing all the same.