Episode 35 picks up on a conversation the guys started during their discussion on pride, but this time David has crossed the finish line: 21 days of fasting without solid food. And naturally, the first thing the guys do is put a microphone in front of him while he eats celery for the first time in three weeks.

Once the celery ASMR and questionable fig tasting are out of the way, the conversation turns to the real question: Why fast at all?

David explains that his church entered a corporate 21-day fast, but not everyone was called to fast in exactly the same way. The goal wasn't simply deprivation or proving how long someone could go without food. It was intentionally removing things that occupy our attention and replacing them with a deeper focus on God.

That distinction becomes central to the episode. There are health reasons to fast, and there are dietary reasons to fast, but biblical fasting has a spiritual purpose. It's not simply about giving something up - it's about what you turn toward after giving it up.

David then walks through what the 21 days were actually like. Because fasting wasn't entirely new to him, the first few days weren't necessarily the hardest. Around the second week, however, the physical effects became much more noticeable: hunger, fatigue, mental fog, lightheadedness, and the need to pay closer attention to hydration and electrolytes. By the final several days, something unexpected happened - his mental clarity and energy began to return.

His relationship with food changed too. Foods he had been craving early in the fast gradually became less appealing. Instead of dreaming about greasy meals and sweets, he began looking forward to fruits, vegetables, and healthier foods. The fast wasn't merely changing what he ate; it was changing what he wanted.

But the heart of Episode 35 comes when the conversation moves from the physical experience to the spiritual one.

As Day 21 approached, David realized he felt capable of continuing. Maybe he could go longer. Maybe even 40 days. But he describes sensing clearly that God had called him to 21 days - not to see how impressive a feat he could accomplish.

That realization brings the conversation right back to Episode 34's discussion about pride.

Continuing the fast simply because "I think I can go farther" would risk transforming an act of obedience into an accomplishment of the flesh. The goal wasn't to prove David's strength. It was to obey God's direction.

From there, David describes the spiritual closeness he experienced during the fast. As his dependence on food diminished, he felt increasingly sensitive to the Holy Spirit and more capable of recognizing temptation, conflict, and distractions for what they were. Things that might previously have overwhelmed him felt dramatically smaller when viewed from that spiritual perspective.

The episode ultimately reveals one of the paradoxes of biblical fasting:

The purpose isn't discovering how strong you are without something. It's discovering how dependent you are on God.

Fasting removes something from the foreground long enough for God to become the focus again. And for David, after 21 days, the greatest result wasn't the weight he lost, the food he resisted, or even completing the fast.

It was closeness with God.

As always:

Love God. Love people. Do something.