6-29-2024 Why do we Fast
As I read
Isaiah chapter 58, Father had me focus on several verses, but also had me read the
whole chapter to fully understand what was happening.
The first
four verses speak of how Israel fasts and prays and honors the Sabbath, but as
they do, we see that it is for their own satisfaction. They ‘do’ the right things, but for the ‘wrong’
reasons, personal gain. Then they wonder
why God does not hear them. When we fast
for God, we should make extra effort to do those things which please Him. Truly, why are we fasting?
Father
starts explaining “His” fast in verse 5.
First, He asks us to afflict our soul.
That is to anah (H6031) deal
harshly with, weaken or – submit – ourselves totally to Him.
Then to bow
down as a bulrush in the wind. Bulrush comes
from the Hebrew gome (H1573) the papyrus plant which is very absorbent, and gome comes from gama (H1572) which is to
absorb, drink, swallow. When we fast, we
are to completely humble and absorb ourselves in the Lord to take in
what He wants us to know, yet at the same time, eliminate the negative.
Father then
says we should spread sackcloth, sprinkle it with ashes then ‘have a seat’. The word used for Sackcloth is saq (H8042) which is a porous cloth (like
a burlap bag) so water can pass through without collecting on and spoiling any
grain which it might contain. It is also
used for mourning (showing remorse). The
ashes (epher H665) carries the
connotation of ashes being strewn around.
It is also akin to apher
(H666) which is using ashes as a covering (literally pouring them over oneself). We should cover ourselves in submission and
receive a cleansing from the Lord as all the negatives in our lives wash down, to
and through the sackcloth with nothing sticking (staying) to us as it passes
through. The ‘crud’ is washed away while
we (the vessel) remain clean. Isaiah asks that if we fast in this way, is it acceptable
to the Lord? Being humble, total
submission, total surrender. What do you think?
Then Father
asks “isn’t this the fast I have chosen” (v6)?
It will loose the bands of wickedness and unload our heavy burdens. All who are oppressed shall be set free and
yokes shall be broken. So what does
fasting do? We are freed from the sin
that has had us bound!
Should we
feed the hungry? Take into our homes the
castaways? Should we give clothing to
the naked? Hide ourselves from our own
flesh (that is not yielding to fleshly desires)? I think this is being honest with ourselves, who
we are and not pretending we’re something that we are not. And a desire to help others to be free of
their bonds. To me, that means cleansing our sins as we fast being totally
honest, totally open with the Lord.
Shedding the undesirable so the ‘new man’ can emerge and so,
then, we might be able to serve the Lord better and help others.
So then what
happens? The light will come on and we
shall see clearly. Just like the rising
sun as it brings morning light into the world, chasing away the darkness. We will see the answer to that for which we
are fasting. We will heal quicker and
our righteousness (in Jesus) will walk before us. Our reward?
The glory of the Lord (v8) will lead our way and give us favor before
man (Prov. 3:1-4).
Once we’ve
cleansed ourselves and are living as Father intended, THEN He will hear us and
answer our call, our prayer. We cry, He
will perk up His eyebrows, open His ears and say “Yes, My child”, when we have shed
the yoke holding us down, quit pointing our finger (accusing others) and setting
aside all prideful speaking (v9) then, we ae on the right track.
When our
compassion urges us to feed the hungry and satisfy the needs of those
afflicted, then the light will come out of nowhere and make the darkness of
night like the noonday sun (V10).” We
will begin to understand. There is no
greater love than for a man to lay down his life for his friends (John
15:13). That is to consider the welfare
of others around us.
Isaiah
continues with God’s promises that He will always guide us. In times of drought He will satisfy our
soul. We will be fully prepared for what
comes our way. Because we have fasted, we
shall be like a garden, fed by springs of water that do not fail (v11).
We (he or
she) shall be called as one who repairs broken things and our offspring shall
rebuild the wastelands. We shall raise
up a foundation for many generations and restore places where people can live
safely (v12).
If we turn our
foot, which has strayed from the Sabbath, that is quit doing our own pleasures
on the Holy days, then we can truly call the Sabbath a delight. As we acknowledge that which is holy of the
Lord and that which is honorable as we honor Him, that is not seeking our own
pleasures (what’s in it for me) nor seeking our own desires nor speaking our
own words (that is what’s on ‘our’ own, unbridled mind), then Father will
continue having an open and compassionate heart for us. We need to choose our words carefully,
considering their impact (v13).
Then delight
ourselves in the Lord and He will cause us to ride upon high places of the
earth and feed us with the heritage of Jacob’s father ((Isaac)(v14). What was Jacob’s heritage? Canaan, the ‘promised land’ (Exod. 3:8), the
land flowing with milk and honey (good things).
Even for us today? Yes! That translates as a closer walk with the
Lord and abiding in His blessings.
Keep in mind
that the Jews knew how to all the
right things – even when their heart had turned from the Lord.
Today, are
we any different? Do we know what the
bible says but then try to impress people with our knowledge? It’s great we know the Word, but what is in our
heart? Does the true meaning of the bible
yet escape us? Are we content in just receiving
and/or sharing the Word of God? Do we see any results? As we hear others speak, do we think ‘good
preaching’, as the Word travels in one ear and out the other? When we
speak, do we expect to hear “Great preaching, brother!” as we focus more on the
praises and compliments to bolster our own ego than what the Word is actually saying? Yes, we do need encouragement and
edification, but do we truly love God above all else (Mark 12:29-31)?
Are we
friendly with those in our fellowship but ignore all others? Do we even
ignore those who come into our fellowship to visit? Or do we welcome them? Are we truly concerned about our brothers and
sisters in the Lord. What about our
‘neighbor’? Paul tells us to ‘edify’
those around us (Rom. 14:19) and that means all with whom we come in
contact. Treating each of them with
dignity and respect – even when we might think they don’t deserve it. Do that which edifies.
As we fast,
our prayer life will be right with the Lord and positive things will
happen. However, faith without works is
dead. So we don’t do works to get
saved, but rather because we are saved.
We show our faith through our works (James 2:14-18). Father does reward us because of our faithfulness
(Heb. 11:6). And our faithfulness is
intensified through fasting.
When we
confess Jesus Christ as Lord and savior, we are confessing that He has come into
this world in the flesh (1 John 4:2) and that He is exactly who He says He is, our
Lord and Savior! We acknowledge His
supremacy over us and that it is He who has saved our soul from hell. There is no other entrance into heaven save
through Him (John 14:6). As we love God,
we discover that He truly loves us and because He loves us, He hears us! When one truly does not love, he has no
part in God. Why? Because God
is love! We love because God first loved us (1
John 4:1-11) and we want God to hear us.
We love
because we are made in the image of God (Gen. 1:27) and God is love! Image is the Hebrew word tselem (H6754) and means a phantom, illusion or resemblance,
ergo a representative or likeness.
God is Spirit (John 4:24) but we are flesh, made of the earth (Gen. 2:7),
yet the Spirit of God lives in us (John 14:17 and gives us power (Acts 1:8). We have our human spirit which gives us
temporary life but the Holy Ghost also lives in us giving us eternal life! So, how are we made in the image of God. (Back to 1st John). God is love and we love because we are
the image of God so we love others. We
express our imagery of the Father through our living. Fasting increases our
capacity to love!
So why do we
fast? To show Father we are serious
about what we say and do, so we can be true exponents of His love. We yield ourselves to Him, as we fast,
acknowledging His authority over us. We
also discover that through fasting, we are able to pursue His image (in our
lives) each day, and grow into a new creature of love!
We show
Father that we are serious about what we have set before Him, so fasting should
be a major part of our prayer life.
During our
fast is a time to talk with our heavenly Father – One on one. We can deny ourselves food and drink but if
we don’t use that time to get up close and personal with Father – all we’ve
done is not eat or drink for that specified time. Give our fast a purpose. We fast to strengthen ourselves, our walk
with our Lord and Savior or to strengthen someone else.
Again why
do we fast? To honor God, to show we
are serious about what we have set before Him.
Fasting also gets our hearts right with the Lord. We fast to grow in our love. So we can grow closer to Father and show a
genuine love for those around us. That
is, to truly be the ‘image of God’ He desires us to be!
One more
time! Why do we fast?
Amen