One
of the disciplines I’ve been working on this year has been fasting.
Most times I’ve done it out of obligation, but when God really calls
me to fast, it is so much more meaningful. Today I
started out
fasting out of obligation, but it’s different. I’ve been reading
through the Bible this year and am currently in Psalms and Isaiah,
and this morning I opened to Isaiah 58,
which is the chapter on “true fasting.” Coincidental,
right? Not so much – I’m pretty sure God has something to teach me
about fasting.
The
chapter starts out talking about Israel and how they’re continually
seeking God, how they are eager to know His ways, how they ask Him
for just decisions, and how eager
they are for God to come near to them. In the middle of this, it
mentions them being a rebellious nation, but notes that they are
still seeking God. Conviction number one for me: I’ve been
rebellious, and I definitely don’t turn right back to God and seek
His face in the midst of it. I’m still stuck in a “scheduling”
midset – quiet times happen best for me when they can be at the same
time every day…and when we’re traveling, that doesn’t ever happen.
I was convicted about the way I seek God (or don’t seek Him) every
day, and also reminded how important it is to turn my face toward Him
and look to Him for guidance every day, whether it fits in my
“schedule” or not.
The
next lines say “‘Why
have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we
humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?'”
Gulp…another thing I’ve struggled with. I feel like most of the
times I’ve fasted (both on the race and before) it has been out of
obligation and it seems as though nothing changes in me or in those
around me. It seems like God doesn’t notice all those times I’ve
“sacrificed” by not eating. But fasting is SO much more
than just not eating…it is a lifestyle of drawing closer to God
through denying yourself a simple pleasure. We can live without food
for a number of days, but it’s a pleasure we take for granted. Most
of my focus on previous fasts has not been “what
are you trying to teach me God?” but
rather “I’m
hungry – when can I eat again?”
I focus more on my stomach than on what God is saying to me or the
people He’s called me to pray for or the specific things in my life
He’s called me to fast about. I go around and do whatever I want, as
long as it doesn’t include eating, while sometimes never even
remembering to pray. That’s why fasting, more often than not, has
been a ritual for me that I can’t seem to get anything out of. It
seems like Israel had that same problem…they fasted out of
obligation and focused on themselves rather than on the needs of
others. They got stuck in the religiosity of fasting instead of
relishing in the freedom of following Christ.
But
then there’s a big shift
in verse 6 – God talks about His kind of fasting…more than just
denying ones self of food. True fasting is to loose the chains of
injustice. It is untying the cords of the yoke. It is setting those
who are oppressed free. It is breaking the yokes. It is sharing
food with hungry. It is providing shelter to those who are wandering
or homeless. It is clothing those who are naked. In a sense, it is
bringing God’s kingdom to everyone, regardless of their social status
or how well you know them or what you “feel like” doing.
That’s what we’ve been working on this year – bringing kingdom all
around the world. Bringing hope to orphans in Thailand and Cambodia.
Providing for basic needs for pastors in the Philippines. Bringing
God’s light to those who walk in the darkness of China. Bringing
clothing to the babies in Swaziland. Bringing freedom to those stuck
in poverty in South Africa. I don’t need just a day to do that –
it’s a whole life thing. And the coolest things start to happen when
we are obedient to God’s call to bring His kingdom to the whole
world. It says in Isaiah that “your
light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly
appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of
the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord
will answer; you will cry for help, and He will say: Here am I.”
How cool is that? When we are obedient to God, He will bring light
from inside us to illiminate the darkness around us. He will bring
healing to our hearts and our bodies. He will go before us and
behind us and beside us – we are never alone when we are doing His
work. He will answer us when we call to Him.
Fasting
has a whole new meaning for me now. I don’t have to sit here and
think about how hungry I am or how much I want to eat that “special
meal” that was prepared for me. I don’t have to be caught in
the ritual of “I’m fasting, so I simply cannot put anything
solid in my mouth.” I don’t have to get caught in legalism.
Instead, there is freedom in fasting. When God directly calls you to
fast (or uses someone else to call you), He wants you to focus on
Him, to focus on bringing His kingdom to wherever you are in the
world. He doesn’t care that you’re following a specific protocol or
that you’re not breaking the rules, He just wants your heart to be
turned toward Him and your mind to be focused on His heart. And
He does want us to bring kingdom…
On a somewhat
similar note, please read Caitlin and Jeanette’s blogs about a fast
that God has called many of us women to on the 30th of each month,
and consider joining us in praying for our men and bringing kingdom
to them.
