True Fasting

Many churches begin the new year with a period of fasting... at least, ours does. It's a great concept, but the problem is sometimes two-fold: one, we don't really understand what fasting is, and, two, we limit it to a couple weeks a year.

Several years ago, I was reading through the book of Isaiah (which is one of my favorite books, by the way!) and came across this passage regarding fasting:

Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
only a day for people to humble themselves?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed
and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the Lord?
"Is not this 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?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
Isaiah 58:5-8

Sometimes we, and myself included, think that fasting means just giving up something for a day or a week, or maybe even three. It means going about our normal life with the absence of whatever it is we chose to fast—food, television, dining out, video games, soft drinks, etc. The point is to eliminate something that has a strong hold over you day by day. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Most of do watch too much t.v., play too many video games, spend too much money going out to eat, or find ourselves addicted to caffeine. Eliminating or reducing the influence of those things in our lives is a great cause, but what do we fill their void with, instead?

Sadly, I must admit that, here on week 2 of my 3 week fast, I have spent very little time filling my fasting void with God.

Fasting is meant to be a time of self-denial, of humility and repentance for sin. The purpose of eliminating what has the strongest hold over us is to clear the way for our mind, body, and soul to join in uninterrupted attention to God. Fasting is meant to be a two-part action: giving up our flesh and then giving in to God.

The Israelites in Isaiah’s time were having a hard time with this concept, too.

‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,
    ‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
    and you have not noticed?’
“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
    and exploit all your workers.
Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
    and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
    and expect your voice to be heard on high.
Isaiah 58:3-4

Now, true, most of us aren’t involved in fasting-induced brawls, but the point is still the same: you may fast in your flesh, but is your spirit unchanged? The Israelites fasting was only skin deep. They were willing to give up the physical for a little while, but they weren’t willing to surrender the rest. And then, they wondered why their quickly uttered prayers remained unanswered.

God then asks a very poignant question: “Is this the kind of fast I have chosen?” Is it the kind of fasting we see Jesus participating in in the desert? Did He just lie around all day, complaining of how badly He wanted a coke, wondering what was happening on His favorite shows, or making a list of all the restaurants He was going to hit up after His fasting was over?  No. He spent His days communing with His Father, praying, and refreshing His soul. His fasting was an outward expression of His inward renewal.

God tells us in this passage what fasting is to Him. It is an everyday action of seeing God’s will accomplished in the earth, of providing for those in need, of defending the helpless, of showing love to the broken hearted, and leading our families to follow after Him. It is the embodiment of the righteous in Matthew 25:34-40:

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,  I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

So, I encourage both of us, if you are going to fast, do it right! Give up your Pepsi and your life! Take the money you're saving not dining out and use it feed the hungry instead. Spend the time you'd normally be watching T.V. reading your Bible or serving others. And, when the fasting period is over, don't leave it all to do again next year. Make it an everyday part of your life, and an expression of the goodness and love of God at work within you.