Isaiah 58:6 & 11 ~ Is this not 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?… 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.
“What is God proposing we fast from? What do we have to give up or fast from to reach out to the oppressed?… What kind of fast did God require of me as He sent me to minister one-on-one to the oppressed? A fast from comfort. A fast from my pretty little world. A fast from rose-colored glasses. In Houston the freeways loop around the inner city to keep me from facing the poor. I can live days on end in my own neighborhood and choose to deal only with pretty problems that smell better. I can choose to fast from poverty and oppression. But if I do, I’ll never have a heart like God’s… One of the purposes of a fast is for the emptiness to prompt us to a spiritual response.”
To be honest I’ve never been a fan of typical fasting… I enjoy food, and don’t like it when my stomach yells at me. Don’t get me wrong, I still fast, just not on a regular basis.
I had never really considered the fact that for most of my ‘adult’ life I have fasted from comfort… wow. It made so much sense. Being overseas and a full-time missionary who never seems to have enough support, luxury was not part of my vocabulary. Going out to eat at a fast food restaurant was about as high class as I got.
Things are different now, I live in the United States. Sure I still need to raise support, but something the Lord and many of my friends and family have been trying to tell me is that I no longer need to fast comfort. I can enjoy the benefits of living in The United States and of being 26. Going out, having fun, enjoying life, and even spending a little money is ok, it’s a good thing. Even if I am living a ‘comfortable’ life and enjoying some luxuries every now and again, I will never forget the faces and the lifestyles of the people that I met around the world.
(Perhaps as I am getting back into the habit of fasting food, the Lord maybe calling you to fast the luxuries and comfort of your life right now.)
