You Call This Fasting?
by Pastor Dan Chun
Isaiah 58:1-12 (NLT)
1 “Shout with the voice of a trumpet blast. Shout aloud! Don’t be timid. Tell my people Israel of their sins! 2 Yet they act so pious! They come to the Temple every day and seem delighted to learn all about me. They act like a righteous nation that would never abandon the laws of its God. They ask me to take action on their behalf, pretending they want to be near me. 3 ‘We have fasted before you!’ they say. ‘Why aren’t you impressed? We have been very hard on ourselves, and you don’t even notice it!’ “I will tell you why!” I respond. “It’s because you are fasting to please yourselves. Even while you fast, you keep oppressing your workers.
4 What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling? This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me. 5 You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like reeds bending in the wind. You dress in burlap and cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will please the LORD?
6 “No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. 7 Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.
8 “Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the LORD will protect you from behind. 9 Then when you call, the LORD will answer. ‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply. “Remove the heavy yoke of oppression. Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors!
10 Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon. 11 The LORD will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring. 12 Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities. Then you will be known as a rebuilder of walls and a restorer of homes.
Ouch! This passage is like a punch into the stomach. The Lord is challenging us to fast for the right reasons and is condemning those who fast for the wrong reasons! What a gut check as we start our 40-Day Fast for Lent to make sure we are fasting with the right motivation.
God said these are the wrong reasons for fasting:
1. We ask God to help us while pretending that we are near Him. (v2)
2. We fast to impress God and others. (v3)
3. We fast but still fight and quarrel. (v4)
4. We dress to impress (in fasting clothes). (v5)
But then God says I only know that you are truthfully fasting if your attitude and actions move towards this:
1. You want to free the imprisoned and lift the burdens of people who work with you. (v6)
2. You want to help the homeless, oppressed, poor and your family members who need help. (vv7-9)
ONLY THEN, will the Lord hear our prayers (v9), and the darkness in our life will be lifted (v10), and our life will be like a well-watered garden and a fresh-water spring (v11). Then we will be strong enough to rebuild the community and our homes (v12).
Golly, when I read this passage, it shakes me up. I REALLY need to be fasting with the right motivation to truly be in the presence of the Lord. For only then, as verse 9 says, will God hear my prayers.
Join me in this endeavor. It may not be easy, but I know that after reading this passage, I shall make a course correction in my mind and soul when I fast this Lenten season.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, on this Ash Wednesday and the first day of our 40-Day Fast, please purify my motives for fasting. Help me not to do it for show. I want to be more proactive in meeting the needs of those who need help. You have blessed me in so many ways that I want to be a blessing to others as well. In Your Name I pray, Amen.
