"Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.
Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord?
Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward.
Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:
And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not."
Isaiah 58:4-11
Kind of a long selection today, but the idea is amazing. Here God is talking about fasting, and he starts out explaining what fasting isn't. We don't fast to get our voices heard by God. We don't fast to suffer or to self-punish. Instead, God explains that fasting is about helping people... to escape from wickedness, to have shelter and food, and to visit our families.
And then, if we get it right, there are so many cool things that he promises us. I love the "light break forth as the morning" and "thy darkness shall be as noonday." ... What it comes down to I think is that if we focus on and take care of other people instead of worrying about ourselves, that God will focus on and take care of us, because that is what he wants to do... help us and lift us and teach us. And he is trying to show us how great and rewarding it is to have our hearts open like that.
Today, let's work on understanding what fasting is really about, and work on learning that kind of focus and that kind of joy as we work to become more like God in the way that we think and act towards our fellow beings. :)
Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord?
Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward.
Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:
And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not."
Isaiah 58:4-11
Kind of a long selection today, but the idea is amazing. Here God is talking about fasting, and he starts out explaining what fasting isn't. We don't fast to get our voices heard by God. We don't fast to suffer or to self-punish. Instead, God explains that fasting is about helping people... to escape from wickedness, to have shelter and food, and to visit our families.
And then, if we get it right, there are so many cool things that he promises us. I love the "light break forth as the morning" and "thy darkness shall be as noonday." ... What it comes down to I think is that if we focus on and take care of other people instead of worrying about ourselves, that God will focus on and take care of us, because that is what he wants to do... help us and lift us and teach us. And he is trying to show us how great and rewarding it is to have our hearts open like that.
Today, let's work on understanding what fasting is really about, and work on learning that kind of focus and that kind of joy as we work to become more like God in the way that we think and act towards our fellow beings. :)
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