Isaiah 58
True Fasting
1 “Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion
and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.
2 For day after day they seek me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
and seem eager for God to come near them.
3 ‘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.
4 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.
5 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?
6 “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?
7 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?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness[a] will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
11 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.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
13 “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the LORD’s holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
14 then you will find your joy in the LORD,
and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
Today people around the world are participating in a Global Fast. Isaiah 58 is not only an encouragement today but it is one of the reasons that I have taken part in A place at the table fast. It is a time to get closer to God and those He wants us to help. Today is day #8 of my 40 day fast (A place at the Table: 40 days of Solidarity with the poor by Chris Sealy) and it hasn't been easy. On tv there are ads for fast food and with young children they always want to eat. I have held fast because I know who and what I am doing this for. I think about my young girl in Ethiopia. Birhane's family lives on $28/month. For me we use more then that a week and that isn't even counting the bills. Birhane's foster parents may not know where her next meal might come from but I do know that at least 3 times a week my 7 year old Birhane gets at least 1 healthy meal. There is something you can do to ensure that at least one more child doesn't go hungry or without the necessities of life, sponsor a child. Compassion reaches out to 26 countries around the world and not only feeds children but feeds them spiritually. Making sure that children know they are special and loved.
Here in Canada, soup kitchens and food banks are around yet they are struggling to keep food on the shelves. Why should people here in Canada starve when the majority of our population have more then enough to live off. Even social assistance pitches in if there is a need yet there are children that are going to school hungry.There is something that we can do here in Canada, give. I don't mean just money but food and time. Drop an extra can of soup into the food bank box at the store or church. Donate time to feed the homeless and hungry. Get involved in breakfast programs at our local schools. I have even heard of families I know sending their child to school with an extra sandwich in case a child cannot eat.
Today I will be fasting from all food. I am fasting for the hungry children around the world and here in North America. Poverty is physical, emotional and spiritual. I can take a step and feel what they feel. I have heard about children who said before Compassion they would go to school with only a cup of coffee in their bellies. But today they are going to school happy.
I cannot begin to fully understand hunger the way they have felt it but 8 days into this fast i realize our culture like food in excess, including me. I understand that I do not NEED that Tim's coffee every day or that big Mac and fries, I want it. Stepping back from wanting and living off the needing has been an eye opener even after 8 days.
** For more information about
A place at the table: 40 days of solidarity with the poor http://www.chrisseay.net/ 
