This comes out of a time of devotion and prayer as I look ahead to my Lenten journey in 2026.

Fasting is not meant to impress God. It is meant to draw us closer to Him.

When we fast, we intentionally remove something that normally fills us so that we can make room for the Word of God to fill us more deeply. And as we draw closer to His Word, we draw closer to Him. The goal is not deprivation. The goal is relationship.

The deeper we go in relationship with Him, the more our wants begin to align with His wants. Our desires begin to reflect His heart. Our thinking becomes shaped by His Spirit. We begin to understand, in a way that cannot be explained by logic alone, what it means to depend on Him.

Because the truth is, we can do nothing without Him.

He is calling us into relationship, not rule-keeping, not religious performance, not checking spiritual boxes. We cannot manufacture intimacy with God by following a formula. We draw near by seeking Him, listening to Him, sitting with Him, and responding to the grace He has already given us.

This is not about legalism. It is not about achieving a spiritual state through discipline alone. Discipline may position our hearts, but it is God who transforms them.

And when we truly draw near, something begins to change.

Our lives start to reflect Him more clearly. People see Christ in us. There is a steadiness, a peace, an understanding that defies human explanation. Not because we tried harder, but because we stayed closer.

It is out of relationship that the fruit of the Spirit begins to appear. Not out of human effort. Not out of striving. But out of abiding. Out of digging into our relationship with Him and allowing Him to move and work in us.

The closer we stay to Him, the more naturally His character shows through us.

Fasting, then, is not about losing something.

It is about gaining Him more fully.