Fast from Fake Fasting!

“They seek me daily
    and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that did righteousness
    and did not forsake the judgment of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments…
‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?
    Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’
In the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,
    and oppress all your workers.
You fast only to quarrel and fight
    …with a wicked fist.
Fasting like yours this day
    will not make your voice to be heard on high.
Is such the fast that I choose,
    a day for a person to humble himself?
Is it to bow down his head like a reed,
    and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?
Will you call this a fast,
    and a day acceptable to the Lord?

“Is not this the fast that I choose:
    to loose the bonds of wickedness,
    to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
    and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
    and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
    and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing shall spring up speedily;
your righteousness shall go before you;
    the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
    you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you take away the yoke from your midst,
    the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
if you pour yourself out for the hungry
    and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then shall your light rise in the darkness
    and your gloom be as the noonday...

“If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath,
    from doing your pleasure on my holy day,
and call the Sabbath a delight
    and the holy day of the Lord honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,
    or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly;
then you shall take delight in the Lord,
    and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth.” Isaiah 58:2-10,13-14

Fasting was prescribed on the Day of Atonement, and was also practiced for seeking God’s specific will, guidance, or protection. It always released from self unto an ‘other’ end: consecration for service, direction for the good of others. It was intended as a means to further the Lord’s work and glory, not an adornment that feigned personal holiness. Isaiah eschewed the false, hypocritical fasting Israel pretended would win them favor with God for their own wants and comforts. (Leviticus 23:27-31; 2 Chronicles 20:3; Ezra 8:21-23; Esther 4:16; Daniel 9:3; Matthew 6:16-18)

God despises the fake offering of empty lip service and insincerity. True, honorable fasting is expressed in relinquishment of personal desires and preferences for the love and genuine good of others. It is a mindset of sacrifice lived out in palpable kindness, selfless generosity, and humble servanthood. It flows from commitment to God’s word and daily applying its truth and power. (Psalm 119:111-112)

From what attitudes and indulgences need we fast this day in order to honor the worthy One?

Lord, may I fast from self and delight in You for others’ good and Your glory.