My first time: fasting on Atonement Day
In the fall of 2005 we found out, that the biblical Feasts appointed by GOD are meant for all of Gods Children. We started keeping the New Moons and the other biblical Feasts. And 30 September 2006 after sundown it was the first time I started fasting on Atonement Day (untill 1 October after sundown), which is required for every Child of GOD. A brief retrospect on that fastingday...
Atonement Day
Atonement Day is the Feast -appointed by GOD- on which all sins will be bounded and given back to Azazel (the devil). For the Jews that day was a day of cleansing of their Temple. For Christians it means a cleaning day of their own temple; their own body in Christ; a physical- ánd spiritual cleansing...
Only 1 day of not eating and not drinking seems impossible to do
At first I didnot know what was meant with fasting concerning Atonement Day. I already knew there are many ways of 'fasting'; ways of abstaining from certain products, actions, etc. For instance: on the Passover-feast and the connecting Feast Unleavened Bread Gods Children do not eat yeast in their food.
Fasting on Atonement Day askes a lot more of Gods Children, because on that Feastingday:
- they do not eat anything
- they do not drink anything
- they do not work
- they do not have sex
Especially the 'not-drinking-part' seemed very difficult -if not impossible- to me. That also maybe the reason I didnot try too hard to find out what fasting on Atonement Day was really about.
After sundown...
Just before the dark of sundown I drank 4 large cups with 300cc of water. Because of the spicy food I ate at four that afternoon it seemed a very sensible thing to do: helping my kidneys splashing away all those spicey salty ingredients. And indeed it was a smart thing to do.
One hour later I already found out that the not-drinking-part of the fasting asks for stipt measures:
- avoid talking,
- avoid psychical action,
- avoid overdressing so you won't sweat.
In order I would sleep as long as possible I decided to stay awake as long as possible that night. And I succeeded to keep my eyes open untill one o'clock in the next morning. When I laid on my bed I almost immediately fel asleep.
A day filled with music and resting...
It was about 10 o'clock in the morning when I woke up and instantly realized, that it still was Atonement Day; mainly because of a dry mouth and throat. After some swallowing luckily my mouth regained some of its moistness.
Time seemed to go very slowly indeed: I calculated several times that day 'how many hours I still had to go'. From experience I knew that it would take untill after past eight that evening before it would get dark. The first eight hours I must have calculated it every hour :-) After time went by I noticed that constantly calculating 'how long to go' is not a sound way of coping with the fasting. Time seems to stand still and it obviously had a double negative effect on me; on the one hand time didnot seem to pass and on the other hand 'I still had so many hours to go'...
I found out good ways of coping with fasting are:
- Making music without singing (playing piano, guitar, etc)
- Listening to (praise-/worship-) music
- Praying silently
- Reading
- Watching DVDs with a biblical topic
- Sleeping
- Start again with 1.
During the day I played praisemusic on my keyboard for about 3 hours; with headphones on of course to keep my neighbours from going insane. I noticed that a dry mouth disappears when the praisemusic you play encourages you. To playing (praise-)music the same will apply. Also times seemes to fly.
During the music I seemed to hunger for quiet prayer, reading my Bible and thinking about past, present and the future. I was very relaxed, encouraged and having a happy feeling. I didnot even realize time went by quickly.
Withered voice, but sharper mind
The more my voice seemed to wither, the sharper my mind seemed to get. I also noticed how much time I usually spend on eating and drinking; also with a high frequency. How much time one spends talking and how fast. How easy it is not to eat. And how much delicious the rest I experienced during the fasting is.
The later it got, the more I got used to the happy fealing with oceans of rest. Time ticked away and it became dark outside...
After the fasting: slowly back on food & drinks...
Funny enough: when it finally got dark outside the need to drink or eat had totally disappearded already. It took me till after half past eight that evening before I started eating and drinking again, though it was already dark before a quarter after eight...
I started drinking a bit of fruitjuice and ate some toasted sandwiches. My stomage didnot enjoy that too much. 'Slow down' seemed to be its message...
Because of my day filled with leisure I didnot expect to sleep untill very late. And I had lots of time to watch the evening sky, to drink slowly and to thank and praise GOD ans His Son Jesus, which I did feeling VERY happy indeed!
My conclusion: fasting can be done very easily!
What seemed so very impossible before I started fasting turned out not to be so hard at all. Stipt measures help a lot. Luckily going out of the house is not needed at all; not-being-allowed to go to work helps a lot there too!
It is almost 10 o'clock in the evening now and I feel excellent; sharp of mind and feeling very happy; not only because I did what GOD asked of me, but also because I realize I am more on Gods Road that way.
Fasting during the Atonement Day can easily be done; it will also make you realize -being a biblical Christian- that all this will come to an end. And a new and cleansed body will start new with Jesus and the angels near GOD in Heaven in Gods House. Clearly fasting on this day prepares you for that future!
Written by: Hein Kuipers dd. 1 Oct-06; translated 16 Aug-08
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