The Day Animals Fasted
By Okwudili Chris Umeweni

"Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: [Jonah 3:7 N.I.V].

It blew my mind to see that at a point in time in history, even animals fasted! It sounds strange. I can't even imagine failing to give my dog food or water for more than a day. How could it survive for more than a day? But as I studied my Bible, I found out that in a particular City, all animals were denied food and water for days!
God sent Jonah to a place called Nineveh to cry against it for their absolute wickedness. As Jonah declared the verdict of God to the people, they believed God's Word and broke down insomuch that the King made a decree saying: "Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands" [Jonah 3:7-8].
I believe they were actually saying, "We have sinned. We don't deserve mercy at all, but God please show us a little mercy anyway, anyhow". I can imagine the Goats and Sheep bleating; Dogs barking; Cocks crowing, all out of hunger & great thirst. This must have set God standing on His feet: "When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened" [Jonah 3:10]. “Do you have a hunger for God? If we don't feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because we have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because we have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Our soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great. If we are full of what the world offers, then perhaps a fast might express, or even increase, our soul's appetite for God. Between the dangers of self-denial and self-indulgence is the path of pleasant pain called fasting.” John Piper

How have you gone out of your way to touch God's heart? How much of humility have you shown before God? How have you reacted to God's Word? It is my prayer that God hearken unto you reading this and turn around every evil situation for your good.

“While prayer is reaching out after the unseen; fasting is letting go of all that is seen and temporal. Fasting helps express, deepen, confirm the resolution that we are ready to sacrifice anything, even ourselves to attain what we seek for the kingdom of God.”   Andrew Murray

An Evangelist cum Author
www.facebook.com/okwy.umeweni
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS