28 Day Digital Fast More of Him, Less of Me.
28 Day Digital Fast
By: Tasha Fiedler
4/14/2025
My intention was to opt out of the 28 Day Digital Fast my pastor offered at our church. In my mind, I saw no need to detach from my cell phone because, “I didn’t have a problem.” Funny thing is, as I sat in church listening to my pastor describe the many ways my cell phone could be interfering with my life, I could totally relate. And if it washn’t distractions, drawing nearer to Jesus by fasting from my cell phone all together was intriguing enough. In my opinion there is nothing more gratifying than establishing a deeper relationship with Jesus.
As much as I tried to talk myself out of participating; I had recently jumped back into the whole social media community, even re-opened my TikTok account and was posting awesome things about God. My Weird Like Jesus website was about to be in full swing, and I was in the process of ordering more Merch. Taking a 28 day break from these things could set me way back. Those thoughts alone stirred up immediate anxiety.
As my pastor went on, he explained the differences between distraction and utility. Distractions are things like email, social media, news apps, games, web browser, YouTube/video apps, shopping. Utility are things that are useful, phone, text, calendar, airline apps, building/garage access, cameras and weather. The list staring back at me from the pulpit, hit a nerve. I knew for a fact that both sides can become culprits. When I check any social media or email on my phone, before I know it, I am engrossed in the cutest penguin videos I’ve ever seen.
I wasn’t shy of fasting in any way. I have fasted half days, intermittent fasting, fasted off sugars and even survived two 21 day Daniel fast's where all I ate was fruit and vegetables. During my first Daniel fast, I dedicated those weeks solely to Jesus. I was seeking discernment in my chaotic life and wanting to know my next move but didn’t trust myself to make any decisions. The first go around with the 21 Day Daniel Fast, I thought I was going to die within the first week, but God was there instructing me on what to eat even giving me ample amount of time to cook before and after work. It was a miracle.
God settled all of my angst’s with the bonus of letting me know that sugar was no longer my friend. In that fast I lost a ton of inflammation from my body and my focus was on point like never before. So, a digital fast couldn’t harm me, could it? I decided to take the challenge and even though a lot of my posts on social media were meant to serve the Lord and build up my website and business, I decided to break free from all of it. I was excited to see what God would show me during this fast. More of Him, less of me.
The first week of my digital fast was challenging. I’d pick up my phone then remember all I could do was check my texts and phone calls. My husband and I and our youngest daughter visited our son in Florida who was staring in a play. As I was taking pictures, it was an upset that I couldn’t post anything to Facebook. At that moment, I decided to take the pictures anyway and post after the fast all the things I did during the fast. I brought along with me The Digital Fast Workbook I picked up from my church.
There was an activity in the workbook that literally blew my mind. I had to view my pre-digital fast screen time. As I indignantly looked up how much screen time I used in a day on such apps, because I honestly didn’t think it would be too astounding, I was hit with a reality check. I spent at least five hours on YouTube a day. I was like, Whaaaaaaatttt?! I didn’t think I had that much time on my hands. I worked outside of the home two full days a week and one night on Wednesday’s, the other days I worked on my business and homeschooled my eight year old grandson and cared for my two year old grandson three to four days out of the week. Before that, I also had my twin infant granddaughters for a weekend at least.
Five hours was startling and if I’m honest, a bit embarrassing. I’m a grown woman with grown woman responsibilities, so the question to myself was how? Jesus disclosed my own secret. The moment I was finished with my Bible time, I was already searching for a video to watch on YouTube. YouTube became my morning ritual. It was how I stayed up to date on current events and crazy people. While getting ready for work, I listened, having coffee, I watched, making my breakfast and lunch, eating my breakfast, on the way to work I listened some more, while setting up for work I listened, while making dinner I watched, sometimes if I ate alone YouTube was my dinner companion. For a woman who swore she’d never ever watch a YouTube video, here was proof in the pudding, I was low-key addicted.
About a quarter way through my fast, the enemy decided to make his pitiful yet grand entrance. He attacked me at the core of my heart, slamming the door to the loves of my life in such a vicious manner it catapulted me into massive anxiety. I remember standing in my kitchen all out of sorts. In a panic I grabbed my phone ready to drown out the hurt with a video, something to play in the background, something to make me laugh, something crazier than what I was being dealt. I picked up my phone and put it down about ten times.
Just as the anxiety overshadowed me, I felt a rush of calm as I placed the phone back onto the counter. I realized then that I have used my phone for comfort when I should be relying on God to be my peace in the storm. I started praying, then turned to scripture. God’s revelation to me during a time of distress was that I wasn’t running to Him first. My cell phone that was loaded with apps of all kind never offered me any peace, only background chaos to add to my own.
Each week was a new revelation. As I’d get ready for work, I worshiped to Christian music. I realized I felt less hurried. I was able to add more Bible time to my mornings without feeling rushed to get through it. My morning workouts were much more intentional because I wasn’t rushing to watch a video. I began to notice that I’d get more done at work and at home. I never noticed how much I’d pick up my phone even at work in order to set my eyes on social media even checking to see how many “likes” I received on my posts.
Not indulging in any notifications was enlightening. I had no idea what was going on in the world. I never watch the news so my relying on social media or my YouTube news folks was where I obtained the goings on around the world. Showing up at work with people asking if I heard this or that or saw this was pretty cool, because I hadn’t heard or saw a thing. It brought me back to the 1980’s where if you didn’t make it to the party or catch that show, you had to wait for someone to tell you about it. It was then that I also felt less anxious in my day. I didn’t need to know all the things.
I didn’t know all the things, and I survived. In fact I thrived. Each day was another day to delve into the Lord’s word and His promises. The Digital Fast Workbook was a great tool that gave some solid insight on what it looks like as a Christian to become entrapped by the enemy. We think we are safe from the agenda these portable computers use against us. We are not. I learned that I was just as trapped as secular people and I was really getting too close to this world again. The overload of having a cell phone can be more stressful than not. We are bombarded with too much all at once. We engage where we don’t need to be. We become judgmental, distracted, and self-righteous. I could see it so clearly.
Over the next several weeks, the weight of my cell phone became lighter and lighter. I decided to live in each moment. I dusted off the camera my sweet friend had given me and took to God’s great landscape. I took pictures and learned to zoom in at different angles. I got myself back in the gym with my fifteen year old daughter, I engaged in meaningful conversations with my husband, God blessed me with a customer who hired me to paint a cabinet for her, then turned around and gave me another piece of furniture to work on. I cleaned an old 1920’s fireplace in a farmhouse my husband is renovating and helped him hang sheetrock. During my daughter’s spring break, I was intentional and present. I got that library card I had been meaning to get and checked out a book, something I loved doing before these phones became a thing.
The best experience of all was in fact getting closer to God while trusting him during this process of letting go. I not only let go of my cell phone, the apps, and games. I let go of things that are out of my control. I mentioned durning this fast, I was attacked by the devil. It was a low blow per the norm of his attacks. But God, reminded me of my being alert of the enemy’s schemes. That the enemy is prowling around like a roaring lion ready to attack and devour. That, yes the devil does steal, kill, and destroy.(John 10:10) But God, is our calm in the storm, our perfect peace in the chaos who directs our every step, discerns our every need. (Mark 4:35, Isaiah 26:3, Proverbs 3:5-6)
Through Jesus, God gave me everything I needed and more than I could ever imagine during this digital fast affirming His desire for me to trust him with my whole heart. We only get this one life and in a time where we are connected with the entire world, it is a lonely place for many. We have been physically cut off from people. Isolated just as the devil would want us to be. Cheering on worldly people, celebrities, athletes, politicians, and worshiping others lives. When God is trying to bless us, satan is trying to destroy us.
We have succumbed to division of family, friends, and in a a lot of cases since the pandemic, work environment relationships. You don’t even need to leave your home, all things are delivered now, including vehicles. The enemy wants us in isolation, bondage, imprisoned. Jesus wants us to live, to be connected physically, to be in the world but not of the world. (Romans 12:2) This world is Satan’s playground. (1 John 5:19) If you take a good look around you can see his schemes in plain sight. Our connection with the entire world is evidence that the enemy wants us submerged in it. By connecting us so easily with our phones, he can easily lure us into complete disconnection with Christ.
The light on our phones is not it. The only light is from the Lord (Psalm 119:105). I know that I will return to my cell phone and my apps. I will go back to posting and engaging. But, my prayer and hope is that I remain mindful on what is feeding me. What am I feeling during these engagements? Am I being self-righteous and judgmental? Do I feel anxious or calm? But above all, how am I serving the Lord on my device and apps, am I giving him my all? Am I disengaging and connecting with God more than the world? It is extremely weird to disconnect from the world but also be in the world that you might be a light to some. (Mark 16:15, Luke 14:23, Matthew 28:19-20) After digitally fasting, I am even more convinced that being weird like Jesus is right where I need to be.
