Isaiah 58

Isaiah 58:6"Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? 8 Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. 9 Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, 'Here I am.' If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, 10 if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. 11 And the LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail."


Wow! I was very touched by this. I have been spoken to by the book of Isaiah for the last year in many ways. It is amazing how verses keep popping up for me. With these verses I was struck by the idea of fasting. Fasting is voluntarily going without food to focus on prayer and fellowship with God. So in this case God is telling them that they should be voluntarily going without for the good of the poor. In several other places in the Bible it says that you should do it in a way that is for God and not for others to see. I love that fact that God is calling us to do something active and to look for those that need our help. Fasting is not about getting something from God for yourself. Fasting is about helping others for God's glory. And the benefit of that is a relationship with our Heavenly Father that hears us because we love Him, not what He does for us.