Isaiah 58: 6-14 - "Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo
the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go freee, And that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the
hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not
hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth
speedily, And 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 extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul,
Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday...."
Did you know that the U.S. consumes about 80% of the world's natural resources? We also consume about the same amount as far as spiritual resources too.
Why are we not seeing more fruit in the U.S.? We have the best of everything, yet very few people are living a victorious Christian life. Why?
The main reason is self-centeredness. The American church is packaged for the self. Most people go
to a church with the mentality, "Let's see what this place can do for me" because that's what we've been told to expect. We sit and soak
expecting our needs to be met Sunday after Sunday. If we feel like we've stopped being fed, then we simply go church shopping.
But God is calling us to His fast. A fast of giving.
This "giving" that God speaks of in Isaiah 58 is the "fast" that He has chosen. When we think of fasting,
we usually associate it with our abstaining from food in order to put the flesh under submission to the Spirit and draw closer to God.
Although this is not wrong of course, the fast that God is speaking about here is one of giving - giving of one's self, not just money, but time and talents.
God is using an "If...Then" scenario to emphasize the importance of obedience and faith. "IF you extend your soul to the hungry...THEN your
light shall dawn in the darkness and your darkness shall be as the noonday." Many times we reverse this. We say "If I was financially independent, I would be able to give so
much more of my time and energy to God's work". But, we simply cannot wait until we "have it" to be obedient. Many people run to various conferences and read books to find
out how to break the yoke of poverty, sickness, etc. Such resources are not without merit, however, in Isaiah, the Lord is saying, "Give, and it shall be given." As Chris
colorfully put it, "It's not rocket science".
This is what the Lord wants. He does not want a "bless me" club. God will not give into a static pool.
He does not fill us up just for the sake of filling us up. He fills
us up to overflowing so that we might be a blessing to others, then He says our healing will come and the yoke will be broken. Expend yourself on these things that
Isaiah speaks of - feeding the hungry and satisfying (ministering to) the afflicted soul. God is not going to allow us to be without direction when we are doing the things He wants.