Are you online because you’re lonely, bored, emotional, or seeking approval from others? Do you find yourself checking your social media updates several times a day? Are these apps installed for easy access on your phone, tablet, and computer? Perhaps it’s time for a digital detox!  Time that can be spent cultivating intimacy with Jesus instead.

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We’re made to fill our empty spaces with Jesus. Not with social media. Not influencers.

Have you considered the term “influencer ” and what it means? Perhaps it is better to be influenced by Jesus Christ. Not celebrities, podcasters, and loud online voices. You choose.

You can stay off social media until 3:00 PM in your time zone.

You’ll be staying off all social media- Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Hangouts. Just to let you know, the only exception is if you’ve committed to meet in a group discussion at a scheduled time. You can join your group at the scheduled date and time, then, after the hour ends, you can return to social media.

During your social media fast, I encourage you to journal your thoughts. Begin your journal by recording how you feel about being away from social media. Create a gratitude journal, prayer journal, or “letters to God” journal. Each time you CRAVE connection and approval online, put those thoughts into your journal.

Social media is a distraction from the Fruit of the Spirit. It consumes our time and leads us into a false sense of fulfillment. We hear women say they’re too busy for daily Bible study, yet we see these same friends online chatting throughout the day. We hear women say they don’t have time to read an inspirational book, yet we see them with abundant comments on Instagram each day.

Friends, we’re a society consumed by something with a false promise!

Let’s reconnect our day with Jesus and build intimacy where it matters most.

Let’s avoid the temptations of social likes, shares, and comments.

Let’s drop the approval addiction and reclaim our identity as Daughters of the King.

HOW TO FAST FROM SOCIAL MEDIA

1. Set an alarm on your phone for 3:00 PM in your time zone. That’s your cue that intermittent fasting is up, and you can log in to see what you missed. For me, this is the same time I drink my afternoon coffee, so I’ll sit with my drink and imagine I’m at a cafe with friends when I get back online.
2. Get a journal to record your experience.
3. During your emptiness, start recording prayers to Jesus, look up Bible verses, and focus on HIM.
4. When you get back online after 3 PM, resist the urge to obsess over social media. Get in, get out!

In addition to this corporate fasting, where we do something as a community, I \’d like also to encourage you to private fasting as well. Don’t share what you’re doing. Pray on it, and the Lord will direct your path.

Originally posted March 4, 2019.