A True Fast

Matthew 6:16-18

New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)

   

¹⁶ “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. ¹⁷ But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, ¹⁸ so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%206:%2016-18&version=NIV1984)

Fasting, it is has been something that has been practiced since the beginning of time. We can find that Adam and Eve fasted from the tree of knowledge of good and evil (up to a point) and the interesting thing is that when they broke that fast they lost the close communion with God.  Satan tried to trick Eve into thinking that breaking the fast would be better for her in Genesis 3:5 and he does the same to us today.  Satan did not just try to break the fast of Adam and Eve but tempted Jesus in the desert, Matthew 4:2 - 3 “² After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³ The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”  You can count on him trying to break your fast as well if you are truly seeking God and His will in your life.

Sometimes people fast for religious reasons such as during the Easter season. This is great when it is done properly.  A true fast does not draw attention to you but to God.  Sometimes I hear people talk about what they have given up for lent, not what they have given up to become closer to God.  Sometimes when we fast, satan tempts us to feel sorry for ourselves for not being able to have what we want.  When he does that we have a tendency to take our attention off of the true reason for the fast and only feel sorry for ourselves. 

Today as I searched scriptures regarding fasting I came across Isaiah 58 and it hit me between the eyes.  The title of the “True Fasting” and it sums up everything we need to know regarding fasting.  I have had a fast end in quarrel and strife and it is not a good thing.  Although my intentions were good they became just that, my intentions and not the Lord’s.  When we fast let’s remember the scripture found in Isaiah 58.   

True Fasting

¹ “Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
   Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion
   and to the house of Jacob their sins. ² For day after day they seek me out;
   they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
   and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
   and seem eager for God to come near them. ³ ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,
   ‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
   and you have not noticed?’

“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
   and exploit all your workers.
⁴ Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
   and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
   and expect your voice to be heard on high.
⁵ Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
   only a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed
   and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
   a day acceptable to the LORD?

⁶ “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
   and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
   and break every yoke?
⁷ Is it not to share your food with the hungry
   and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
   and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
⁸ Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
   and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness^[a] will go before you,
   and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
⁹ Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
   you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
   with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
¹⁰ and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
   and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
   and your night will become like the noonday.
¹¹ The LORD will guide you always;
   he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
   and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
   like a spring whose waters never fail.
¹² Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
   and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
   Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

¹³ “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
   and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
   and the LORD’s holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
   and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
¹⁴ then you will find your joy in the LORD,
   and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land
   and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”
            The mouth of the LORD has spoken.

(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2058&version=NIV1984)

Look closely at what is says about the Sabbath in verses 13 and 14.  How many of us go to church on the Sabbath and go home and do what we want?  We go Sunday morning and then the rest of the day is ours to do with what we want.  Many churches that used to have evening services have stopped them because no one would come.  That is so scary to me because I believe it is a reflection of who we are as a church today.  We put our own interest in front of the interest of God, we bow to the world’s ways rather than to God’s ways.  We think we need to “do” church a certain way to draw crowds when in actuality we should be honoring God, following His commands, we should be honoring Him, not ourselves, not others. 

Look at verse 2 and 3 again, why are you seeking out God?  How are you going about doing it?  What is our nation like?  What do we ask God for?  Again, why are we seeking God?  Is it to get what we want, to feel good, to be noticed?  Why is it we seek Him?
What do we do when we fast?  Do we go about our day as if nothing else is happening?  Do we tell others that we are hungry because we are fasting?  Do we tell others how much we wish we could have a piece of candy because we gave it up for lent?  Do we get angry when no one serves us fish because it is Friday and that is the only type of meat we can eat or do we simply take what we can eat and be satisfied?  Why is it that we fast?  Is it to draw near to God?  If it is then we need to take to heart Isaiah 58 and follow the path of a true fast. 
We need to stop malicious talk, give to the hungry, and help those who are oppressed.  If we want our light to shine for Jesus we need to stop thinking about ourselves and looking at ways to help others know Him too.   We need to keep the Sabbath day holy and honor Him. 
Seek Him with all your heart, not to get what you want but to please Him and bring glory and honor to Him and to Him alone.
Seeking Him with all my heart,
Sheila