Thank you for joining me as we look at the book of Isaiah. This week I continue to share about passages that have impacted me personally. Let’s dive into Isaiah 58 and 59 together.
Isaiah 58 talks about fasting. Growing up I had heard about fasting but it just wasn’t something that we did in my religious circles. It had no place in my personal paradigm. However, once I encountered Jesus personally and began to pursue Him I began to realize that fasting is something that is part of a normal Christian life.
The heart of fasting is pursuing God wholeheartedly. It is setting aside something and removing distractions to allow us to have a greater focus on God. It’s not about earning God’s favor. It’s about being able to tune into God with greater clarity. When we suppress our physical appetites we not only hear God more clearly but we see Him more clearly.
Isaiah 58 talks about the type of fasting that pleases God. In verse 3 the people are asking God, “Why have we fasted and you haven’t noticed?” God’s reply is, “You don’t do works of justice. You don’t pay your laborers fair wages. You don’t share your bread with others and you don’t bring the poor to your house.” God goes on to say, “When you do these things then I will answer.”
God is not giving us a legalistic list of things to do. What He is asking for is a heart for those that are on His heart and an ongoing lifestyle that puts it into action. If we live and “fast” this way He says we will be “like a spring of water that does not fail.”
Chapter 59 then expounds on justice. We see a pattern throughout this chapter where God outlines how justice is lost in a society and what His response is.
- Verse 4: No one calls for justice.
- Verse 8: And there is no justice in their ways.
- Verse 9: Therefore justice is far from us.
- Verse 11: We look for justice but can’t find it.
- Verse 14: Justice is turned back and righteousness stands afar off, for truth is fallen in the street.
- Verse 15-16: The Lord is displeased that there is no justice and that there is no intercessor. And though He prefers to work through us He reveals that many times He has to bring justice in spite of us.
We see a pattern here in both chapters. God expects us to reach out to the poor and oppressed. He expects us to cry out for justice and to act justly ourselves. If we do these things we will see justice re-established in the earth. We must think multi-generationally. Our seeds of prayer and fasting today when combined with acts of justice will produce good fruit in future generations.
Is there something you should set aside this week to create space for greater intimacy with Jesus? Combine this with asking God to bring justice and to show you how to act justly towards others!
