Dec 11-13

An oldie but a goody...

Isaiah 58 is going to give us the breakdown in regards to fasting. Here we go!

3'Why have we fasted and You do not see?
Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?'
Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire,
And drive hard all your workers.
4"Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist
You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high.
5"Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it for bowing one's head like a reed
And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed?
Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the LORD?
6"Is this not the fast which I choose,
To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the bands of the yoke,
And to let the oppressed go free
And break every yoke?
7"Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry
And bring the homeless poor into the house;
When you see the naked, to cover him;
And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
8"Then your light will break out like the dawn,
And your recovery will speedily spring forth;
And your righteousness will go before you;
The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
9"Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am '
If you remove the yoke from your midst,
The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness,
10And if you give yourself to the hungry
And satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
Then your light will rise in darkness
And your gloom will become like midday.
11"And the LORD will continually guide you,
And satisfy your desire in scorched places,
And give strength to your bones;
And you will be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.

K so these verses are pretty heavy and there is a lot of good content in there. One thing i want to highlight is that one of the main outcomes of a fast is that we get closer to God. There are various fasts that the Bible speaks of that do various things to the person and to God as we try to move our hearts and His while we fast. The main reason to fast which is mentioned in the NT (which I highlighted again a couple months ago) is fasting for the Bridegroom. We fast to put ourselves into voluntary weakness to get more of God in our lives. This fast in particular does not necessarily move Gods heart the way some OT fasts might (Joel 2, Daniel 10:3 are examples). Its for our hearts, for us to stir ourselves up to reach for more of God.
This is what i want to highlight this week in Isaiah 58. Each verse gives detail on how the fast brings about righteousness and holiness making someone more like God or actually bringing God closer to them in their lives. Look at verse 9.
9"Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am '
This is what we want! this is why we fast! we fast to put ourselves in voluntary weakness saying "God have your way in my life! Make me perfect!(Matt 5:48) "Let me hear Your voice!" "Here is my heart and my focus, its You and I won't let anything get in the way of that, Not even food!"
One of the reasons why i fast is to heighten my focus on God for these 3 days. Look through Isaiah 58. Every result of each thing spoken of is more of God or of what God wants. This is revival. I want daily revival in my life. "Your kingdom come, Your will be done!" (Matt 6:10)
Daily breakthrough is something we need to be aiming at in our lives. Every day i need breakthrough with the Lord. Doesn't matter what area of my life or how significant. Daily breakthrough is needed! It will cause me to go deeper with God and learn who He is.
So i encourage you all to fast and pray and seek the Lords face during these 3 days. Ask Him to take you deeper in consecration and deeper in holiness. And then focus to actualy step forward to tackle areas in your life that hold you from that. (SOS 2:15) Don't let anything get in the way of the fruit that God will cause to grow from your heart! Grab that fav verse and study, meditate, sing and pray it. Read Isaiah 58, reflect on what these verses say. Seek righteousness and personal revival and breakthrough in your own life!
God Bless.
-Drew