Fasting: Games We Play With God

For the past 21 days, a church here in Springfield has been on a "fast" from all types of media, both inside the church and inside the homes of its members. This is quite a contrast from the church I wrote about in my previous blog. To get "Unplugged" is important so we can take time to "Be still and know that I am God". (Psalm 46:10)

However, what happens when this 21-day fast is over? Will the tape come off the televisions inside the church and will everything go back to the way it was before? Do we ever ask God, "What kind of fast really pleases You?" and then search in His Word for the answer? Isaiah 58 clearly gives us the answer.

The first part of that chapter describes God's people as:

1. Seeking God daily and delighting in knowing His ways. (vs. 2)
2. Taking delight in approaching God. (vs. 2)

However, even though God's people were seeking Him, God refused to recognize their day of fasting. Why? In verse 5, God asks, "Is it a fast that I have chosen, a day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, and to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord?" (The answer is "No" when you read the rest of the chapter.)

Here's the list God sets forth for a fast that pleases Him:

Loose the bonds of wickedness, undo the heavy burdens, let the oppressed go free and break every yoke, share your bread with the hungry, bring to your house the poor who are cast out, clothe the naked and don't ignore the needs of your own family members.

The above list has to do with "loving our neighbor as ourselves". The next list God gives us, though, focuses on "Loving the Lord our God with all our heart..." Remember, this is part of "the fast" that God said pleases Him.

"If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the Lord...."

It seems to me fasting is not so much about us and what we are willing to give up for God. I hear God saying it is about OBEYING what He tells us to do regarding caring for our "neighbor" and KEEPING HIS SABBATH DAY a day set apart for Him and His pleasure - NOT for our own pleasure or work. (And don't forget, the Sabbath Day is the seventh day of the week - NOT the first day of the week. See Exodus 20:10)

"Unplugging" is a good thing for us to do in order to hear God's voice more clearly. However, to call it a "fast" that pleases God - according to God's Word, it doesn't qualify.