Abstaining

Like fasting, abstaining is a spiritual exercise. We get to practice spiritual humility when we omit things from our regular routines or diets. It is during this time that prompts us to submit to, and trust in God to sustain us and draw us close.

Monastics have been practicing abstention for a long time. Abstinence was practiced in the early church, particularly with meat and meat products. The ideas of what should be abstained from have changed throughout time. Yet it continues to be a practice of the Church still today.

Things and food can often have more control over us than most of us would like. Integrating abstention into our lives is an active practice. A practice that invites the presence of God into our midst. Being intentional in refraining from certain things, we can practice reliance on God. This reliance causes our dependence to shift from the things that have authority over us, to God.

Rigorous practices should never be done in a spirit of punishment or shame. Rather, they should be acted on out of the grace God has given to us. We should joyfully step into these practices, giving them back to the Lord to draw close to Him. Let us enter into these practices to prayerfully gain mastery over our wants and desires. Ultimately, we ought to set out to lessen all things hindering our ability to be present with Jesus.

Divine Truth with Our Reality

We invite you to incorporate abstaining into your life and rhythms. Identify something in your life that seems to have a hold on part of your life in some way. Choose to prayerfully abstain from that thing for a set period of time (it could be a week or more). When we inevitably feel the desire to go back to that thing, let us gently bring our focus back to God. Let us allow God to release us from those attachments by His grace. Let us be humble in our submission to God, trusting God to help us draw close to Him. It is during this time of desire, and saying no to it, that we can live into the power, love, and grace that God has for us.

Abstaining can be done by anyone. If you are unable to fast for medical reasons, we encourage you to practice abstaining. This abstention can look a variety of ways, but we encourage you to start by abstaining one week per month.

It is through the intentionality of turning to God that we can become more present with Him. Being present with Him, we experience the love and grace He has for us.