Devotional -

The Acceptable Fast ( 23 September )

The kind of fasting I want is this: Remove the chains of oppression and the yoke of injustice, and let the oppressed go free. Share your food with the hungry and open your homes to the homeless poor. Give clothes to those who have nothing to wear, and do not refuse to help your own relatives. Then my favor will shine on you like the morning sun, and your wounds will be quickly healed. I will always be with you to save you; my presence will protect you on every side. When you pray, I will answer you. When you call to me, I will respond. If you put an end to oppression, to every gesture of contempt, and to every evil word; if you give food to the hungry and satisfy those who are in need, then the darkness around you will turn to the brightness of noon. And I will always guide you and satisfy you with good things. I will keep you strong and well. You will be like a garden that has plenty of water, like a spring of water that never goes dry.
Isaiah 58:6-11

For most Christians fasting means little more than depriving oneself of food or drink or certain kinds of food. This passage in Isaiah shows us that, as always, God has higher purposes than just making us hungry or thirsty. What is a true fast in God's eyes?

1. Remove the chains of oppression and the yoke of injustice. If you see someone in chains, will not you set him free? In (Luke 13:1-13) we read about the Lord healing a woman with a bent back whom Satan had kept bound for eighteen long years. Jesus set her free from her infirmity.

2. Let the oppressed go free. Let us be coworkers with the one who says, "Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). Let us be Christ's ambassadors declaring his message of love to the whole world. Then the oppressed will be set free to live in the freedom and glory of God's children.

3. Share your food with the hungry and open your homes to the homeless poor. Our merciful Lord had compassion on us, stepping down from his glory to save us. Throughout the gospels we see Jesus feeling compassion for the crowds, teaching them and feeding them. Do we think of the poor around us, stretching out our hands to help them?

4. Give clothes to those who have nothing to wear, and do not refuse to help your own relatives. The Lord encourages us to give generously and not to overlook the poor and the miserable. Like the poor widow, we are never too poor to give to others.

This is God's acceptable fast. As we do these things, the Lord's favor will shine on us, and he will heal our wounds. Then we will call to him and he will respond and make our lives flourish like a well-watered garden.

- 23 SEPTEMBER -