The 40 Day Sugar Fast Where Physical Detox Meets Spiritual

Transformation

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© 2019 by Wendy Speake

Published by Baker Books

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ISBN 978-1-4934-1927-2

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To the women who joined me online for the first
sugar fast five years ago—I didn’t feel equipped to
lead, still you followed me as I followed Jesus. He’s
brought us a long way since then! Our diets have
changed but our lives have changed even more. This
book is dedicated to you and to the One we followed
together in those first forty days.

Open your mouth and taste,

open your eyes and see—how good GOD is.
Blessed are you who run to him.
Psalm 34:8 MSG
 Contents

Cover 1
Endorsements 2
Title Page 5
Copyright Page 6
Dedication 7
Foreword 11

Before You Fast 15

Guidelines 21
Day 1 Taste and See 27
Day 2 Return to Me 32
Day 3 When Sugar Walls Crumble 37
Day 4 Trusting God with the Battle 42
Day 5 Fasting and Feasting 47
Day 6 Armor Up! 51
Day 7 A Holy Hunger 56
Day 8 Candy Canes and Crutches 60
Day 9 When Jesus Shares His Food 64
Day 10 His Presence, Our Present 68
Day 11 Shine! 73
Day 12 Food Triggers 77
Day 13 Weight and Worship 82
Day 14 What Else Are You Craving? 87
Day 15 Divisive Devices 92
Day 16 Comfort Foods and Retail Therapy 97
Day 17 Be Quiet and Be Transformed 101
Day 18 Stumbling Blocks and Dynamite 105
Day 19 Have a Sober Mind 109
Day 20 The World’s Goods Aren’t as Good 113
Day 21 Boredom Can Be a Trigger Too 118
Day 22 Spiritual and Mental Clarity 122
Day 23 Hunger Pangs 126
Day 24 Healing Past Hurts 130
Day 25 God Cares about the Details 136
Day 26 As for Me and My House . . . 140
Day 27 The Kind of Fasting God Wants 145
Day 28 Feed My Sheep 150
Day 29 Ditto 155
Day 30 At the Table with Jesus 159
Day 31 Praying for Healing 163
Day 32 Wake Up! 168
Day 33 Brick by Brick 172
Day 34 Remember! 176
Day 35 Once You’re Free, You’re Free to Share 180
Day 36 Two Masters 184
Day 37 Keep Knocking, Keep Asking 188
Day 38 Getting Down to the Root 193
Day 39 God Wants Your Life, Not Your Sugar 198
Day 40 Live Like It’s True! 203
Day 41 He’s Not Done with You Yet 207

Appendix A: Life beyond the Fast 211

Appendix B: Additional Resources 215
Acknowledgments 217
Notes 219
About the Author 221
Back Ads 223
Back Cover 226
 Foreword

DO YOU LOVE ME MORE THAN SUGAR?

That thought startled me out of my reverie. What kind of a question was
that?! Of course I loved Jesus. I grew up in church, surrendered my life to
Him at the age of five, and have faithfully served Him ever since. I have
loved Jesus as far back as I can remember.
But if you’d have to give up sugar—for the rest of your life—would you
do it? This new thought threw me. Now why would I do that?
Would you choose Jesus over sugar? The questions pelted me like an
unwelcome hailstorm.
This was getting out of hand. Of course I’d choose Jesus. I’d given my
life to Jesus! I’d die for Him!
Then why are you running to cookies instead of running to the cross?
Why do you seek solace in a pint of ice cream rather than the Prince of
Peace? Why are you feasting on warm bread rolls instead of the Bread of
Life?
Ouch.
My life slowly came into focus, scenes from past binges flashed before
me. I slowly realized that with my mouth I confessed one thing as true, but
my eating habits revealed another truth entirely.
Sugar was my savior, not Jesus.
My heart broke in two.
“What do I do?” I cried out to the empty sunroom. The sunbeams
streamed through billowy curtains as despair overran my soul. My eyes fell
to the paragraph I had underlined just moments before those daunting
questions first came to my mind. This time I read more slowly.
If you don’t feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because you
have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of the
world. Your soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great. God did not
create you for this. There is an appetite for God. And it can be awakened. I invite you to turn
from the dulling effects of food and the dangers of idolatry, and to say with some simple fast:
1
“This much, O God, I want you.”

This much, oh God. This much.

 . . . As much as I crave my morning mocha.
. . . As much as I desire a second serving of pie.
. . . As much as I anticipate the taste of my next sugar fix.

That much? No. If I was being honest, I didn’t desire God that much. But I
wanted to.
“Help me want You more,” I wrote in my journal that day. “Stir in me a
hunger for You.” That’s when the Spirit began piercing my soul with His
convicting questions, not to heap condemnation but to lead to inner
transformation. His invitation to me was clear: a forty-day fast from sugar
to break the stronghold it had become in my life and train my affection on
Christ alone.
I drew in a shaky breath and agreed.
A few days into my sugar fast, withdrawal hit me hard. What had I done?
What was I thinking? This was crazy! Not only had my sugar cravings
intensified but a hidden part of me had surfaced that I had never seen
before. I was irritable, impatient, and intent on getting my way. I snapped at
anyone who so much as looked at me the wrong way.
All I could think about was sugar: donuts, milkshakes, creamer, cookies,
instant oatmeal . . . even ketchup. Sugar was everywhere, and I was craving
it with reckless abandon, much like a drug addict. The pull toward sweets
seemed magnetic.
“I’m not going to make it,” I confessed under my breath when a
coworker brought cookies to share at work. “I can’t do this anymore.”
But God, being rich in mercy, provided just what I needed. I learned that
an online friend was leading a sugar fast—oh the “coincidences” that come
when we learn to trust Him!—and I immediately signed up to join her,
eager for the community and accountability.
Wendy proved a trustworthy companion. Gentle yet firm, she redirected
my gaze away from my momentary sacrifice to fix my eyes on the grand
prize. Not skinnier thighs or a healthier thyroid, not glowing skin or
grounded emotions. No. These may have occurred, but my reward was
Jesus.
Jesus.
He is enough. And in fasting from the small things of this world, like
sugar, we invite Him to awaken in us a hunger for Him. “He satisfies the
longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things” (Psalm 107:9)
—yes, even with Himself.
Those forty days with Wendy taught me that I didn’t really have a sugar
issue after all—I had a heart issue. Jesus wants our undivided, unadulterated
affection. He wants us to love Him with all our hearts, all our souls, all our
minds, and all our strength (Mark 12:30). All of us. Everything. Every last
molecule crying out for more of Him. And when we beg Jesus to lead us to
that place of longing, He will gladly satisfy us with the very best He has to
offer—Himself.
The enemy of our souls comes only to steal, kill, and destroy, and he
often uses sugar addiction to cripple us spiritually, emotionally, and
physically. But Jesus has overcome, and He offers us the full life found in
Him alone (John 10:10).
That first fast became the battleground where I discovered the truths I
share in my book Full: Food, Jesus, and the Battle for Satisfaction. Over
the years that followed, Wendy graciously invited me to join her in leading
the 40-Day Sugar Fast, and together we have seen thousands of women
encounter the freedom and fullness found in Jesus when we give Him
everything—even our sugar addiction.
This journey will not be easy, friends, but it is so worth it because Jesus
is our satisfaction and He is our reward.
Better even than chocolate cake?
Oh, yes. Come and see.
Asheritah Ciuciu, author of Full: Food, Jesus, and the Battle for
Satisfaction
 BEFORE YOU FAST

“MY NAME IS WENDY AND I’M A SUGAR ADDICT.”

Those nine little words changed the trajectory of my life when I posted
them online in 2014. Innocently, I invited people on my Facebook page to
join me for a 40-Day Sugar Fast. I wasn’t simply having a problem with
sugar, I told my friends, I was experiencing physical and emotional
problems too. My sugar tooth was dictating my thoughts and my days. On
top of that, constant neck pain and stomachaches plagued me. I was gaining
weight, my muscles and joints were always hurting, my sleep was fitful,
and my emotions were a wreck. I was grumpy, tired, and impatient with my
kids and my husband. Sadly, sugar wasn’t making me sweet. I didn’t need
any more conviction, what I needed was transformation. I needed more than
another diet; I needed something deep within me to change.
The response to my online invitation was overwhelming. “Me too,” they
cried. “Yes!” they affirmed. “My name is Melissa . . . My name is Alexis
. . . My name is John . . . My name is Jenn . . . and I’m a sugar addict.”
There’s something about sugar that has a grip on us, and we know it. We
run to sugar for our comfort and our reward. We turn to it in boredom. We
depend on it when life is stressful. We crave it when we’re depressed and
use it as confectionary therapy. And even when life is at its best, we
celebrate with cake.
We’ve been running to sweet snacks to get us through our days for far too
long. It’s become a habit. No, worse than that, it’s become an addiction.
And addiction works much like a prison. We’re unable to break out of the
bars and the bondage that hold us back from health and wholeness. Men
and women the world over have traded their freedom—along with their
health—for sugary shackles, and they’re so ashamed.
If that’s you, if you are feeling powerless over your addiction to sugar, if
you have lost sight of God’s power in your life, know that you are not
beyond redemption. Fad diets and workout routines can’t set you free,
but God can. Sugar is everywhere but so is He. What would you be willing
to give up in order to gain the powerful presence of God in your life? With
His help you can be set free—free from your shame, free from your
cravings, free from your addiction.
Join me for this forty-day journey to food freedom, faith, and the
discovery that He is enough. Lay down sugar so that you might taste and
see His good and satisfying sweetness in your life. Fasting is merely
denying yourself something temporal and ordinary in order to experience
the One who is eternally extraordinary.

What This Book Is and Is Not

Before you turn another page, let me clarify what this book is and what it is
not. It isn’t a scientific source recounting the evils of sugar; there are plenty
of books that do that. Nor is this a diet book or a collection of recipes.
While I love to cook and share some of my favorite meals with others, I am
not a nutritionist. I am simply a Jesus-hungry woman who is passionate
about turning hungry hearts toward the only One who can ever truly satisfy.
Are you a binge eater? A secret eater? An emotional eater? Tell the Lord
all the reasons why you can’t go forty days without sugar, and let Him show
you that with Him it’s possible (Matt. 19:26). Over the course of these next
few weeks, as you stop cramming food and other fillers into the hurts and
holes of your life, the power of Christ will fill each empty place with His
peace. He will make you whole.
Nutritionists and diet experts encourage us to “crowd out sugar” by
eating plenty of delicious and nutritious foods. I love that idea and have
used the same technique in my own eating habits. However, the purpose of
the 40-Day Sugar Fast isn’t just physical detox; the goal is spiritual
transformation. Not only will we be fasting from sugary sweets, we’ll also
be fasting from all the things we turn to instead of Him. The 40-Day Sugar
Fast is primarily a spiritual fast, so the main way we will “crowd out sugar”
is by intentionally turning to the Lord and consuming His living Word
instead. We are focusing on taking in more of Him and less of the things
that don’t make us more like Him.
We suffer spiritually each time we reach for a sugar high rather than
the Most High. Our sugar fixation stops us from fixing our eyes on Jesus,
and hungering for sweet treats gets in the way of our hunger and thirst for
Him. The goal of this fast isn’t that you will begin to choose healthy
food options; it’s that you will come to see Christ as the only option.
The more you ingest of Him, the less hungry you will be for the things you
once craved. We’re fasting from sugar so that we might feast now. This
is how we crowd the sugar out.
Think of this book as a daily companion to help you do just that. Each
day’s reading is packed with Scripture and application so that you might
feast on God’s Word in lieu of the world’s sweetest fare. Ingesting sugar
might not make us sweet but consuming Him certainly does. Sweet and
satisfied and stable. Physically, spiritually, and emotionally so.
If you want His peace, love, joy, and gentleness, and you’re desperate for
His self-control, turn to Him. Abide with Him. He’s told us clearly, “Those
who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from
me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 NLT).
The 40-Day Sugar Fast is for those who are sugar-dependent but long to
be dependent on God. You’ve tried to muscle through and grab hold of self-
control—and all the other fruits of God’s Spirit—on your own, but it
doesn’t work that way. Abide in Him, consume Him, and His fruit will
consume you and transform you.

How to Begin
Perhaps you’re convinced that this fast is what you need, but you don’t
know where to begin or what to expect. I understand. But don’t worry, it’s
quite simple.
Make a commitment to join me in saying no to refined sugars for forty
days. No sugary snacks, baked goods, ice cream treats, sweet coffee
creamers, sodas, candies, and so on. Nothing that includes refined sugar or
high-fructose corn syrup. From there, the specifics are up to you. Some
people choose to avoid all forms of sugar, while others use limited amounts
of raw honey, maple syrup, and fresh fruit in their diets. Some keep Stevia,
Erythritol, and monk fruit on hand, while others feel convicted to lay all
sweeteners down during the fast. Many say no to the sneaky sugars hidden
in marinades and condiments such as barbecue sauce, teriyaki sauce, and
ketchup, but others don’t. Plenty of people cut all simple carbs from their
diet as well, along with alcohol and anything else that turns to sugar in the
gut. You’ll need to make some choices before you begin.
 Take a day or two to pray before you fast. Ask God to show you what
your fast should look like. You’re not putting on a show for anyone else.
Privately seek His will for your private fast. What will work best for you
and your family may be different from what will work for me and my
family. Ask God to speak to you about anything in your kitchen that
you’re running to in a frenzied or habitual attempt to satisfy your
soul’s deep hunger and then give it to Him as an offering. Maybe He
will lead you to simply stop eating donuts, drinking mochas, and grabbing
an afternoon Snickers bar and late night bowl of ice cream. Or perhaps He
will speak to you about the alcohol in your cupboard that not only turns to
sugar but can easily become a daily reward that you run to as soon as it’s
five o’clock somewhere.
Seek Him first before you fast. Tuck this Scripture-promise deep in your
heart and frame it on your kitchen counter: “But seek first the kingdom of
God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matt.
6:33).
Seek Him daily as you fast, filling yourself with more of Him and His
righteousness, and you will likely drop pounds. But that is just a by-product
of something weightier still. While your weight may decrease, your faith
will increase and God’s power will begin to flow in your life again. Fasting
from physical food increases one’s spiritual hunger, and that’s the
hunger that leads not only to a transformed body but also to a
transformed life. When we empty ourselves and ask Him to fill us, He
does. When we are at our weakest, His strength is most evident. When we
don’t know what we’re doing, He does it all. When God sets us free from
the strongholds in our lives, we’re free to experience His strong hold.
I’m excited to journey through the next forty days with you. Let’s kick
this sugar fast off with a prayer, because communicating with God is what
turns this physical fast into a spiritual one.

Dear Lord, nothing has worked to set me free from the compulsive way
I turn to sugar when I could be turning to You. Before I even begin this
fast, I know I need more of You and less of the stuff that leaves me
hungry. Take all the refined sugars I’m laying down and teach me to
lean into Your gentle refining. Take my life as I empty it out and fill me
with Yourself. Your Word proclaims: “It is for freedom that Christ has
set you free.” I’m choosing to believe that’s true. Set me free! In the
bondage-breaking, freedom-giving, sweet, sweet name of Jesus, Amen.