The following is my journal entry from my quiet time with Jesus this morning:
For the longest time, Isaish 58: 10 – 12 has been one of my favorite portions of Scripture and has become my mission statement for the Race and probably for life. This morning, I decided to read all of chapter 58, and I was kind of convicted…the first 5 verses speak of what the typical person's idea of fasting is: seeking the Lord, eager to know His ways, wondering why the Lord hasn't appeared.
Essentially, God says, "Well that's great, but it doesn't count when your days end in strife, or when you don't live the right way or follow My commands."
And then verses 6 and 7 are the whammies: "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter – when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?" Woah.
How many times have I sought the Lord and His ways in the morning, only to turn and slander, lie, and gossip my way through some days???
I can fast, pray, and study my Bible all day, but if I'm not living right, if I'm not loosing the chains of injustice, giving shelter to poor wanderers, or clothing the naked, then what's the point?! And I don't think this part of the Bible is metaphorical, either. I think He literally means to set the oppressed free, feed the hungry, and clothe the naked. It's time to stop sitting in the comfort of my 4 walled house with 20 pairs of shoes, clothes that I don't even wear, and food that sometimes gets thrown out.
It's time to start living life the way God intended.
Lord, show me where in my life I have gone wrong. Maybe not all in one day, because I think that would be depressing. Take me through a process. Teach me about the things that I've been getting wrong.
If I don't live the way You've asked me to, then I might as well not study my Bible.
Why read something if I'm not willing to follow it? Father, I want to loose chains, untie cords, and set the oppressed free. I want to be, as verse 12 says, a Repairer of Broken Walls, a Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. Not for my glory or renown. All for Yours. Open my eyes to the injustices and the yokes. Help me to see the oppressed. Don't let me walk on by anymore. I put my "good-Christian" agenda aside to live as You would have me live.
I'm ready to see some freedom dances!!!!
