A Homesickness for God - Piper

I realize I should have commented on this on Tuesday but I found that having deprived myself of both sleep and food (the second being my choice, the first was not) that day meant that by evening I could not function well enough to do so.

The introduction to Piper's book, A Hunger for God, entitled, "A Homesickness for God" was perfect, I thought, as an introduction to fasting. I copied more quotes from it than any of the other chapters.

Quotes like:
--God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him. The fight of faith is a fight to feast on all that God is for us in Christ. What we hunger for most, we worship.
and
--The greatest adversary of love to God is not his enemies but his gifts. And the most deadly appetites are not for the poison of evil, but for the simple pleasures of earth. For when these replace an appetite for God himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognizable, and almost incurable.

After that first day of fasting I realized how much comfort I get out of food. When feeling weak, tired or overwhelmed I often turn to food or drink (or chocolate, is that food?) to soothe me. Being aware of that and learning to find comfort and rest in the Lord first will help me to see Him as my source for strength.  I like the way Piper says it:
--A real lived-out human act of preference for God over his gifts is the actual lived-out glorification of God’s excellence for which he created the world. Fasting is not the only way, or the main way, that we glorify God in preferring him above his gifts. But it is one way. And it is a way that can serve all the others.

I don't know if we were supposed to read the introduction or not, but in my opinion it is an easy read and a really good basis for understanding why we fast.