Erin Davis - Fasting & Feasting: 40 Devotions to Satisfy the Hungry Heart

Copyright 2022 by Erin Davis

All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

9781087747156

Published by B&H Publishing Group

Nashville, Tennessee

Dewey Decimal Classification: 242.64

Subject Heading: DEVOTIONAL LITERATURE / FOOD / FASTING

Unless otherwise noted, all Scriptures are taken from the Christian Standard Bible, copyright 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible, and CSB are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

Scripture references marked nkjv are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture references marked esv are taken from the English Standard Version. ESV Text Edition: 2016. Copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Scripture references marked hcsb are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, Copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.

Scripture references marked kjv are taken from the King James Version, public domain.

Cover design by Studio Nth, LLC. Illustration by HappyPictures and Cobisimo, shutterstock. Author photo by Katie Bollinger with Revive Our Hearts .

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To my Aunt Rhonda, whose love for food inspired mine and whose love for Jesus makes me hungry for more of Him.

T hough I am honored to have my name on the cover of this book, I acknowledge the many others who made it happen, made it better, and made it beautiful. I offer my deepest and most heartfelt appreciation to the many gifted and gracious people whose invisible fingerprints are all over the pages of this work including:

Jason Davis , as my husband and better two-thirds, you are my first and favorite editor. You patiently listened to this project at every phase. You are my most faithful champion. I adore you.

Eli, Noble, Judah, and Ezra Davis , you are the apple of my eye. You are patient with me as I spend countless hours behind the screen and serve too many plates of pizza bites to meet my deadlines. I love you more than buttered popcorn.

Ashley Gorman , your precision with words and fidelity to Scripture impress me. You may be the silent partner in this project, but I heard your voice loud and clear. Thank you for ensuring that every word counts.

Dear Reader , Ive thought of you every day of this project. Ive imagined your trials and triumphs related to food and faith and longed for you to find lasting satisfaction. Thank you for picking up this book. Thank you for reading it. And thank you for realizing all I have to offer you is Jesus. He is enough.

Jesus , truly You satisfy the longing soul, and the hungry soul You fill with good things (Ps. 107:9). I love You and cannot wait to feast at Your banqueting table.

T here are times when a warm croissant, a bright bowl of fruit, or a steaming cup of coffee feel like perfect, God-given gifts. There are other moments, perhaps more frequent, when food feels like our enemy and our relationship with it becomes a vortex of regret, frustration, and shame.

We read food labels, count calories, and keep lists of favorite recipes, but have you ever stopped to ponder: What does Gods Word say about food? The answer might surprise you. It will certainly delight you.

When it comes to what the Bible says about my relationship with food, two words from Mark 9 whet my own appetite to understand. (Youll hear more about this on Day 1.) Like the first bite of chocolate cake, they left me craving more and sent me searching for:

Other passages that call Gods people to fast

Other examples where the Bible uses food to teach us spiritual principles

Other times when God invites His people to feast.

I found that Gods Word is a smorgasbord that truly satisfies. I am so grateful we will spend the next forty days digging in together.

This book isnt a call to fast for the next forty days, nor is it a call to strictly feast. For now I hope youll simply soak in Gods Word and seek to understand His heart for how food and faith intersect. Sip slowly on Bible passages like a perfect cup of coffee. Really chew on the lessons God is teaching you through His Word.

Each daily devotional finishes with Setting the Table and Inviting the Feast. The inspiration for those sections came from an unforgettable prayer I heard a long time ago. If I close my eyes and try to picture her, I cannot see the face of the woman I first heard offer these words to Jesus, but the memory of her prayer has stayed with me. Ive repeated her prayer many times since. I hope youll do the same.

Lord, weve set the table. We ask you to bring the feast.

Isnt that the Christian life in one bite? We do what we can. We bring our best intentions, our brightest devotions, our purest worship to Jesus as acts of setting the table. Then we wait with anticipation for Him to bring the feast, to fill our hearts with His truth, to fill our homes with life rhythms that truly honor Him. He always does. He always will.

You can set the table right now by opening your Bible and telling God you want to hear from Him. Abandon your ideas about what your relationship with food is supposed to be. Lay down your guilt about what it has not been in the past. And then commit to meet with Him daily for the next forty days, expecting to be filled.

The Bible celebrates food as a gift while simultaneously inviting us to surrender every area of our lives to Christs authorityincluding what we put on our plates. Rather than the yo-yo of loving food and then hating it, Scripture invites us into a different rhythm the rhythm of fasting and feasting.

Hungry to Know Him More,

Erin

M y life has been changed by a footnote.

Mark 9 focuses on an uncomfortable story about a daddy and his demon-possessed boy. Scratch that. The real focus of this passage, of every passage, is Jesus. This account puts His unmatched power over the things that torment us on full display.

As remarkable as these events are, if youre familiar with the Gospels, you know theyre not exactly outliers. The Bible records so many examples of Jesus healing the sick, driving out the demonic, and even (more than once) raising the dead. Maybe thats why this particular miracle didnt arrest my heart until my eyes drifted to the footnotes.

Scan the footnotes of Mark 9 for yourself. In reference to verse 29, do you find a notation that adds and fasting?

Some older translations of Scripture leave these two vital words in the text, while the rest relegate Christs mention of fasting to an afterthought at the bottom of the page. For the sake of time, I wont pull on the thread that unravels the why. But I will focus on what matters most we all have a this kind.

The boy in this passage was controlled by a dark spirit that responded to prayer and fasting and nothing else. Not fretting. Not begging. Not bargaining. No, Jesus was clear, This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.