Fast Day 11: Isaiah 58:5-7

By Tim Merrill

“Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast and a day acceptable to the Lord? 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? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring hte homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?” Isaiah 58:5-7 ESV

What is my motivation for fasting? Here, the Lord (speaking through the prophet Isaiah), is challenging the motives of the fast. Am I seeking self gratification or am I seeking to live out His will? Jesus sums up the entire law in 2 commands. Love God and love His people. (Mt 22:37-40) If I’m not loving God’s people well, the way He has prescribed, I am not honoring him and my fast is meaningless. 

This template that Isaiah speaks to is as difficult as any task we may seek to accomplish. How easy it is to turn the other way when I see the most depraved results of sin and sin nature.  Especially when it doesn’t affect me personally. The Lord has asked me to seek his justice. To hate what is evil and speak out against oppression. He calls on me to share the great blessings that he has bestowed upon me with those less fortunate, regardless of the circumstances that led them to such places. To show his mercy in the wake of destruction and shine light into darkness that breaks the tradition of “every man for himself.” He wants me to share and show the good news of grace, redemption and reconciliation. To tell and to live out the Gospel of Christ! He wants me to seek the nature to do these things well. His nature. 

This is the fast he has chosen! 

Reflection:

1.What are some things that may be keeping me from being intimate with God? 

2. Are there areas in my life I would like to see myself reflecting God’s divine character more naturally?

3. What steps can I take to achieve this goal? 

Prayer Points:

1. Thank the Lord and Ask Him to identify the resources I may have in abundance to give. (time, talent, treasure) 

2. Thank Him that He wants to give me good gifts and ask for a deeper understanding of His nature so that I may  steward those gifts well.