fast day ten: Isaiah 58, part 1

Let's take a break for a couple of days. We're halfway through the book of Daniel and many of us are reaching the halfway mark of our fast (the 21-day version anyway). I'd like you to stop and read Isaiah 58. It's my very favorite passage about fasting and we'll take two days to talk about it, but go ahead and read the whole thing both days and let it marinate. (Mmm. Marinate.) Click here to read it online now.

This is a prophecy from God through Isaiah to God's people of Israel who were frustrated with God's lack of response to their fasting. There's a lot to learn from God's rant to them about what fasting's really about. Verses 3 and 4 where God calls them out for just going on about their own business, "doing as they please," really stand out to me. It makes me think of Jesus at 12 who is found in the Temple because He "had to be about His Father's business." If we're trying to live like Christ, we need to consider that. Whose agenda were we on today? Ours or His?

I think it's easy for us in such a food centered society to quickly allow this time to become all about what we're not eating. There's no point in fasting as far as God is concerned if it's all about food. Unless it's all about God, you might as well not bother. That's not to say that we aren't all getting great health benefits from what we're doing. I mean, I don't know anyone who's fasting from veggies and fruit and healthy stuff. We're all fasting from less healthy stuff. But that's all really secondary to the real, powerful, supernatural, true fasting this chapter is talking about.

So let's renew our commitment to our fast with a clarified picture of what a fasting heart should look like. Let's make it a part of our worship to also lay aside the crankiness, the arguing, the strife, the temper, or any other behavior that dishonors God. Let's renew our fasting as an act of worship. Let's make tomorrow a day devoted to going about our Father's business.

More about this chapter tomorrow, so read it again in another version and let it simmer. (Shoot, another food word! I meant simmering a nice veggie soup not pork chops, I promise.)