(Scripture readings for today: Isaiah 57:1-58:14; Psalm 114:1-8; Proverbs 26:22; Ephesians 5:1-16)
These chapters in Isaiah contain some of my favorite scriptures. When faced with the death of a beloved family member or friend I find a great deal of comfort in knowing that God says those who are saved and pass from this life are, in fact, taken away from evil (Isaiah 57:1). In this chapter, God proceeds to reprimand those caught up in idolatry--"Also behind the doors and their posts you have set up your remembrance (pagan symbols). God says, "You are wearied in the length of your way; yet you did not say, 'There is not hope'. You have found the life of your hand; therefore you were not grieved" (v.10). When things are going well for us--even if we're caught up in sin--we are unlikely to be grieved.
God says He inhabits eternity, His name is Holy, and He dwells "with him who has a contrite and humble spirit" (v.15). God goes on to say, "But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. 'There is no peace', says my God, 'for the wicked'" (v. 20-21).
God's people in chapter 58, appear to "take delight in approaching God" (v. 2), and yet God says, "In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, and exploit all your laborers". Verse 4, "You will not fast as you do this day, to make your voice heard on high". God describes the fast of His choosing in verse 5,----"A day for a man to afflict his soul (in contrast, they found pleasure)? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, and to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord?" (Do we view fasting from God's perspective?)
God addressed the fact that His people fasted "for strife and debate, and to strike with the fist of wickedness" (v. 4). They desired to have the upper hand rather than humble themselves before God in sackcloth and ashes. God asks, "Is this not the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke?" (Fasting is to bring a change of heart and attitude in the one who is fasting. It is not a "hunger strike" to try and convince God to do what we want.) Yet, these people were seeking pleasure and exploiting those who worked for them. We are to fast in a manner that humbles us--we are to have "the wind knocked out of our sails" so to speak, to be reminded of our human frailty and to have pride knocked out of us. God is looking for that contrite and humble spirit that He mentioned in chapter 57:15.
The desired outcome of a fast that meets God's criteria?---"To loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke". Fasting, when done correctly, reminds us we are all in the same (fleshly) boat and should result in increased compassion for others so that we are willing to "share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; when you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh" (v. 7).
When our pride is squelched and we begin to realize everything doesn't revolve around us, we begin to really see those around us, and our humbled hearts become filled with compassion. Fasting serves to change us from the perspective of our weakness--God's says His strength is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). God cannot liberate us when we refuse to turn loose of our pride. God describes the spiritual breakthrough that comes from proper prayer and fasting in this manner: "Then your light shall break forth like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily" (Isaiah 58:8). Ephesians 5:8, says it this way, "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. . .finding out what is acceptable to the Lord" (v. 10). "Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light" (v.14)!
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