The Fast That (Day 2)
The Fast That Grasps
The goal of fasting is not gaining. The goal of fasting is becoming.
Isaiah 58:3 ESV
Why have we fasted, and you see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?' Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers.
Devotional Thought
Let me just say this right now. Israel had a problem with pronouns. Listen to their complaint.
"Why have WE fasted and YOU see it not? Why have WE humbled OURselves and YOU take no knowledge of it?" Me. Me. Me. I'm fasting for me. I want this for me. I need healing for me. I want provision for me. I want You to hear me.
And the Lord says, "You got a problem."
So what I'm seeing is this. God lists the evidence against them. You seek your own pleasure.
You oppress your workers because you value yourself more than you value them. You quarrel and fight because you cannot be wrong and you have to be right. You hit with a wicked fist because you do not get your way and so you fight to control for your own desires.
Here's what I need you to know. Israel's theology had become meology. And when our theology becomes meology, it shows up in our lack of sociology. In other words, when our faith in God is really just worship of ourselves, it will always be evident in our lack of care for others.
Now watch this. A fast fails when it focuses on gaining instead of becoming. Gaining asks what will I get from this. Becoming asks who will I be through this. Gaining treats fasting as a transaction. Becoming treats fasting as a transformation.
Israel was fasting to gain God's attention, gain His favor, gain His intervention. It was religious commerce. "We gave You something, now give us something back." But that is not how the kingdom works. God is not a vending machine where you insert spiritual disciplines and receive blessings in return.
Can I just say that this mindset is incredibly common? We fast expecting a breakthrough. We pray expecting an answer. We give expecting a return. And when God does not deliver on our timeline, we get frustrated just like Israel did. "Why don't You see what we're doing?"
But God is not interested in your transaction. He is interested in your transformation. He does not want to give you more stuff. He wants to make you more like His Son. The entire point of spiritual discipline is not to manipulate God into blessing you. The point is to shape you into someone who reflects His character.
So the question shifts from "what will I get" to "who will I become." And that changes everything about how we approach God.
Tomorrow we will discover what a fast that forms actually looks like. But today, examine your motives.
"Why have WE fasted and YOU see it not? Why have WE humbled OURselves and YOU take no knowledge of it?" Me. Me. Me. I'm fasting for me. I want this for me. I need healing for me. I want provision for me. I want You to hear me.
And the Lord says, "You got a problem."
So what I'm seeing is this. God lists the evidence against them. You seek your own pleasure.
You oppress your workers because you value yourself more than you value them. You quarrel and fight because you cannot be wrong and you have to be right. You hit with a wicked fist because you do not get your way and so you fight to control for your own desires.
Here's what I need you to know. Israel's theology had become meology. And when our theology becomes meology, it shows up in our lack of sociology. In other words, when our faith in God is really just worship of ourselves, it will always be evident in our lack of care for others.
Now watch this. A fast fails when it focuses on gaining instead of becoming. Gaining asks what will I get from this. Becoming asks who will I be through this. Gaining treats fasting as a transaction. Becoming treats fasting as a transformation.
Israel was fasting to gain God's attention, gain His favor, gain His intervention. It was religious commerce. "We gave You something, now give us something back." But that is not how the kingdom works. God is not a vending machine where you insert spiritual disciplines and receive blessings in return.
Can I just say that this mindset is incredibly common? We fast expecting a breakthrough. We pray expecting an answer. We give expecting a return. And when God does not deliver on our timeline, we get frustrated just like Israel did. "Why don't You see what we're doing?"
But God is not interested in your transaction. He is interested in your transformation. He does not want to give you more stuff. He wants to make you more like His Son. The entire point of spiritual discipline is not to manipulate God into blessing you. The point is to shape you into someone who reflects His character.
So the question shifts from "what will I get" to "who will I become." And that changes everything about how we approach God.
Tomorrow we will discover what a fast that forms actually looks like. But today, examine your motives.
Application Questions
- When you pray or fast, are you primarily focused on what you will receive or who you are becoming?
- How has a transactional view of God affected your expectations of Him?
Today's Challenge
Rewrite your prayer requests for today. Instead of asking God for things, ask Him to form something in you. Replace "give me" with "make me."
Today's Prayer
Lord, I confess that I have often approached You like a transaction. I have fasted for breakthrough, prayed for blessing, and given for return. Today I surrender my agenda for gaining and ask You to focus on my becoming. Shape me. Form me. Transform me into someone who looks like Jesus. I trust that when I become who You want me to be, everything else will fall into place. In Jesus' name, amen.
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