Faith and Fasting: Quiet the Noise and Seek God’s Direction

Hey, I'm Coach TJ. Welcome to the Mind Body Faith Over 50 podcast. I'm excited to share something with you that actually happened to me while I was preparing for this podcast.

But before I do, I have a question for you. Do you feel stuck? Like you know something has to change, but you're just not sure how to take that next step.

If that's you, go to mbfpodcast.com/call to hop on a call with me. That's mbfpodcast.com forward slash call. All right, now let's get back to the podcast.

Understanding the Spiritual Discipline of Fasting

So today we're going to talk about the third pillar for the Mind Body Faith Over 50 podcast, which is of course faith. But as I was thinking about and praying about how to talk about it, I sense that God was telling me to do more than just talk.

I sense that He wanted me to fast. And I realized that for some of you, fasting might be a new concept. Well, faith helps us move forward with fear, doubt, distractions, and circumstances, right?

Whenever we have things that try to pull us off God's path. Well, fasting can be a practical spiritual discipline. It basically it helps us to quiet those distractions, right?

The things that might pull us off the path and to get ourselves humble before God, just more attentive to what He's showing us. So why am I talking about all this? Well, today's episode was gonna be about faith.

How Faith and Fasting Work Together

But fasting became an important part of it. So now it's about faith and fasting because I'm actually fasting today, and it's because of what I sensed, but it's not for weight loss, like you've probably heard people talk about intermittent fasting.

And that's probably related to resetting the body and losing weight and all about food and that kind of thing. But that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about it from a spiritual perspective.

And what happens is you do feel hungry still, but that hunger reminds you that you need God. God is the energy that is going to sustain me even more than food.

So when I feel hungry I remember that I need to pray and ask God into my decisions and to just help me as my sustenance. So for faith, we all experience fear, doubt, uncertainty, and distractions, of course.

Faith helps us move forward when we don't have all the answers, right? Prayer, scripture, seeking God, that helps us determine what direction he wants us to move in.

Fasting is about depending on God, and that purpose is turning our attention to God. So when you think about it that way, they can go hand in hand.

Faith as the Core Pillar for Mind and Body

So just as my body and your body needs food, our souls need God. So when hunger or weakness comes, use that as a moment to stop, to get quiet and pray, to thank God, ask for wisdom, listen and reconnect.

I encourage you to try it when you have a decision that you need to make and you want to take that leap of faith. Share that with God and let Him help direct you in that way.

Faith itself, it's not just another pillar alongside mind and body. Faith's what gives the other two pillars of our podcast their direction and their purpose.

Taking care of our minds and bodies shouldn't become self-centered. Becoming stronger and healthier, that can help us to be at a point where we can serve others, where we can love and encourage them and walk alongside them and use our own experiences and knowledge to help.

Sharing the Gift of Faith with Others

Fact that's my reason behind this mind body faith over fifty podcast is I feel like I've finally reached the age through physical aging, but more through maturity and experience. Maybe God calming me down a little bit as I get older.

Where I want to share, I want to help others from my experiences and use the gifts that God's given me in terms of faith and encouragement and use my voice. So I want you to understand too that whether you have the gift of faith, or if faith is something that you struggle with maybe more than myself or more than some others, doesn't mean that you're less than.

You see, it's up to those of us that have the gifts that we do to use them in a way to help others. That's why the body of Christ has so many different parts, and we all play our part in that body.

For me, faith is something that I've had a strong belief in and felt from an early age. I thought everybody had that strong faith, to be honest, and it wasn't until probably in my 40s that I realized that it was a gift.

I realized that it wasn't something I was supposed to just hold on to, but I was supposed to share that with others and encourage them, and it brings me joy, it just makes me happy, it makes me smile. Well, fasting in a way can help quiet our mind and allow us to sense the Holy Spirit even more than we would just through believing alone.

Finding Meaning in Difficult Circumstances

I want to ask you something else, and it's about how you react when something happens to you that is bad. Something that happens to you or someone you love, and you just don't understand that it doesn't make any sense.

How do you react when something like that happens? Do you say, why God? What why would you let that happen?

Or do you ask, given that that has happened, what can you learn from that? So instead of maybe saying, if it's happening to you, why me, God, what if you started saying, God, what can I learn from this?

Because Romans 8:28 says, and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God. Now, that doesn't mean that God causes everything.

In fact, I don't like it when people say, "Well, everything happens for a reason." Not because God wanted it to happen, there's evil in this world, and we're all human, and we make mistakes.

Along with those mistakes come consequences, and there's accidents. God working something for good doesn't mean that he caused the bad thing, it means that everything that happens God can use those painful circumstances for our good, for those who love God, and that's what we should be doing.

The Importance of Quiet and Submission

Sometimes my way of sensing God is just to be in a quiet place. And I know that he patiently, lovingly is waiting for me and you to be quiet enough to recognize his direction.

I'm a little envious of some people I know that hear audibly from God. And if that's you, I would really love to hear about that from you.

For me, it's a little bit different. He doesn't just push me to get me back on the right path or talk to me audibly, but he'll show me a sign, especially when I ask for God to show me something that I don't just see with my eyes, but I see it with my heart.

I feel it. And that's happened to me many times. And I know because of how that resonates with me in God's word, that that's God showing me something.

If you want to learn more about faith in the Bible, check out the book of Hebrews. In fact, that's referred to often as the book of faith.

And my favorite verse in the Bible, maybe the only one that I've actually memorized even, is from Hebrews. It's Hebrews 11:1. For faith is the substance of things unknown. The evidence of things not yet seen.

Now, some versions leave out that word yet, but to me that's a really important distinction because in faith I know that I might not see those things yet, but that I will, that God will cause that to happen. That faith is one that I have and I want to be able to share that with you.

It's okay if you don't have that yourself. And in fact, faith alone's not enough, right? You have to actually show your love for God by helping others by letting Him lead your life.

And I often do that through prayer. In fact, the way that I pray is to kneel and be in submission to God in a way that I lean forward, lean in, close my eyes, and say God, please help me with the decisions that you know in my heart that I'm struggling with.

Help me to do what you want me to, not just what I want or what I think I should do. I'm leaning on your direction, God, and I know that you will provide me that direction and be with me as I struggle to stay on the path that you've given me. It's in your Son Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Living Out Your Purpose Through Service

I know you have your own way of praying, we all do, but God knows each of us intimately, and he knows what we're thinking and what we're going through, even without us saying the words.

But the important thing in saying them is showing him that we know that he is the one that we rely on to guide us. To help with our decisions, to be with our families and to allow us to help others.

I want to encourage you to pray to him also. Because I guarantee you, he listens, he hears you. He sees everything that you're going through.

And I know that through faith. So you're welcome to borrow some of mine if you're running low on it at any time, okay? As for the wisdom, discernment, the guidance, and sensitivity, that comes through reading his word.

That comes through being with him daily in walking with him and coming back to him when I get knocked off the path that he has for me. The goal for me is to speak life, not just into me, God help me.

It's also, God, help me become the person who you want to use to help others. Man, there's power in that. That's like so encouraging.

I'm gonna ask you to use your words, your experiences, actions, and your knowledge, your health, and your testimony. We all have our own stories to speak life into others.

That might be on a stage, or it might just be talking to a friend who needs your help, you need somebody to listen to. God's allowing me to speak life into others through this podcast and through my coaching.

So I'm gonna pause here and ask if you're ready to make a change in your life, will you please go to [mbfpodcast.com/call](http://mbfpodcast.com/call) so that you can book a call with me that we can use to figure out the next step in your life together?

Okay, now we've covered the three pillars for the Mind Body Faith Over 50 podcast. Next week, we'll talk about the foundation for the podcast, what those three pillars are supported by.

I look forward to talking with you and being with you here again soon. Until then, remember, renew your mind. Strengthen your body, deepen your faith, and live your best life yet.