Day 13: Isaiah 58:1-8

Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.
Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours.
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 rereward.

The morning light of the sun appears gently, gradually at first, imperceptibly lightening the horizon with faint bands of color. Slowly the hues deepen, spreading further across the landscape. Then at last, at the climax of anticipation, the sun itself breaks forth in full brilliance above the horizon, its beams shooting across the landscape to illumine all it touches.

God’s covenant promise to us is that this is the way our light will break forth.

But there’s a condition.

Fasting.

It’s not a popular activity by any means. It’s not something you’ll hear preached as often as memorizing Scripture, praying, or sharing Jesus Christ. But it’s something God is quite emphatic about in Scripture.

In Isaiah, God’s people are lamenting the fact that He is not blessing their fasting. In their minds, fasting is a sure ticket to God’s favor – but they aren’t seeing that play out in their lives. Through Isaiah, God is telling them why. Fasting isn’t an automatic guarantee of God’s blessing; like everything else in our lives, it must be done according to God’s leading and methods. God clearly states in this passage several things fasting isn’t:

• A time to seek personal pleasure.
• A time to perfect your own labors
• A time to craft winning arguments for your cause
• A time to gain an audience
• A time of mourning and grief
• A time of defeat

But what does He say fasting is?

• A time to loose the bands of wickedness that bind you to an old habit or that bind others from coming to God
• A time to undo heavy burdens: to lay down cares and pleasures alike, to set ourselves apart as holy that we may lift the burdens of others
• A time to let the oppressed go free – free from the cares of the world
• A time to break every yoke – to sever relationships that hinder full focus on Christ
• A time to give bread to the hungry, sacrificing our own physical needs for others
• A time to bring the poor into our houses, practicing selfless hospitality and generosity

In essence, it’s humbling ourselves to the will and work of God, focusing on what is important in His kingdom. It’s a time of claiming and putting into action the victory we have already won through Christ Jesus.

That’s the condition.

THEN, God promises, your light will break forth as the morning, your health will spring forth speedily,  your righteousness shall go before you, and My glory will be your rearguard.

What a promise! With the true light of life, solid health, a reputation of righteousness, and a guard of His own glory, what more could we need?

Are you willing to set yourself aside for the greater rewards found in knowing and honoring Him?