So many times we can choose to fast and once arriving into the throes of our fasting, get weak. The summer we lived in Brazil, we fasted ALL.THE.TIME. The church we worked with was a fasting and praying church. It's one of the things I remember best about the congregation.
Unfortunately for me, Brazil also has the best smoothies I've ever tasted - rich, "healthy", and best of all you drank them through a straw. Can you see where I'm going yet? Every time we fasted I would wake up thinking, "I'm not going to eat anything until sunset". That was a typical fast for the church. But by the time lunch came around, my stomach was screaming to go to the cafe next door for (are your ready for this?)...a drink. I'm not saying that your fast can't include juices or smoothies, but mine definitely should not have in those days. I was just weak, and my mind started justifying.
We have so many examples in Scripture that encourage us in how to not fall into this temptation though. Look at Jonah 3:7: the king "issued a proclamation and it said, 'In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles; Do not let man, beast, herd, or flock taste a thing. Do not let them eat or drink water.'" If we declare our fast to God before beginning, I have no doubt that we would be much more successful in seeing it through.
In Brazil, I had simply said "I'm not going to eat." That left a door open for me to fall into temptation. It was better for me to tell God, "Today, I'm not going to have anything but water until sundown." This didn't leave me any wiggle room and when my flesh grew weary, I would have had a more specific word to stand on.
Today, I encourage you that if you've had difficulty keeping to your fast in the past, declare it before you begin it. Give a specific word to God of what you will not have in order to humble yourself before Him - to say that He is more important than whatever you choose to be lacking.
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