Fasting in the Face of Suffering

10 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a word was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar. And the word was true, and it was a great conflict. And he understood the word and had understanding of the vision.
2 In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks. 3 I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks.
Daniel 10:1-3
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Fasting in the Face of Suffering
Daniel’s mourning and fasting for three weeks shows the weight of sorrow that godly people often bear in a broken world. He doesn’t eat delicacies, anoint himself, or seek comfort. Instead, he humbles himself before the Lord, waiting for insight and comfort from above. His sorrow isn’t for himself but for God’s people and God’s promises seemingly delayed. We, too, mourn in this world, over sin, suffering, and the delay of justice. But like Daniel, our mourning is not hopeless. At the cross, Jesus bore the fullness of our sorrow and sin. He fasted from glory and comfort to suffer in our place. When we fast or lament, it is not to gain God’s attention, but to focus our hearts on the One who already hears and has answered us in Christ. In our weakness, God strengthens us by His Word and gives us hope through the crucified and risen Savior.