“Remove the heavy yoke of oppression. Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors! 10Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon. 11The LORD will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring.”

              In my last devotion, I explained the beginning of this chapter. God confronted His people, according to their hypocritical fasting. They made little sacrifice but didn’t want to focus on God nor the more important issues that can be found in His heart. So, He asked them this rhetorical question: “Do you really think this will please the LORD? (v. 5)”

              What makes God amazing is that He never leaves us in the dark; He always provides us with the RIGHT way of serving Him and responding to Him. Following God is not a guessing game. People who often ask, “I don’t know what God wants from me” rarely are truly seeking His will for their lives.

              But, in this passage, God shows the people that FASTING is not about the momentary sacrifices we make for ourselves or for even God. Biblical, God-pleasing fasting aligns itself with an already devoted lifestyle. For some, fasting is simply a brief period where we actually decide to devote ourselves. That’s completely backwards! If we truly want God’s attention to our problems, wants and needs, we must—first—focus on God’s desires. Jesus reminds us of this in Matthew 6:33, when he said, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”

              So, in this season of fasting, commit more than a delicacy or mere inconvenience to God; commit or re-commit your life to Him! Then, as He says, “The Lord will guide you continually.”

Pastor Jeff