Scripture:
Isaiah 58:6-14 NKJV
[6] “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? [7] Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh? [8] Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. [9] Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ “If you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, [10] If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday. [11] The Lord will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. [12] Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In. [13] “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, From doing your pleasure on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the Lord honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking your own words, [14] Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Observation:
It’s easy to get caught up thinking it’s all about me and those who live in my house. But honestly…it’s just not. As I was thinking about what to write this morning and going through the scripture, these verses came to my attention. You see, I have been struggling in several areas of my faith. As far as thinking that I have the weight of the world on my shoulders. Having to provide not only for my home but the homes of a few different men that are employed by the company that GOD has given me to steward. I’m going to be honest. It’s all too much it gets really heavy. But it’s not my burden to carry. That’s easily forgotten at times. Fasting and praying and seeking GOD have led me to do things that seem to have absolutely nothing to do with the company. But I get this overwhelming feeling inside my spirit that it’s something I have to do. I have been studying the bible for a long time and have had the opportunity to read it from cover to cover at least 10 or 12 times now. It finds it amazing how the Holy Spirit brings things out in the scripture at just the right time. I’m looking at Isaiah chapter 58 this morning, and it’s pointed out to me that. What has been set in my spirit to do is truly how GOD wants us to do some things. My tine is getting short, so I’m going to try to explain this the best I can in a short amount of time, and there is a lot of scripture. The LORD asks a question through the prophet Isaiah, saying, “Is it not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bounds of the wicked, to undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?” The point that the LORD is getting to whit thus quest is the purpose for fasting. You see, it’s not necessarily about you at all. It’s about others’ look how HE continues with what HE is saying. “Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked and you, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh?” Fasting in a biblical fashion is about taking what you go without and giving it to others so that they do not have to go without. That’s what is being said by the LORD through the prophet Isaiah. Now, let’s look at what happens as a result of doing this. Again, I’m going to have to move quickly, so if I miss something, please take the time to read the scripture and allow the Holy Spirit to speak. “Then your light will shine fourth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you: the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.” Man, I could stop right there and just be totally excited about that statement by itself. There are a lot of promises in that one verse, but it’s not over yet. The Lord continues. “Then you shall call and the LORD will answer; You shall cry and HE will say here I am’ if you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of fingers, and speaking wickedness.” In other words, it’s not for you to figure out why people are in the position they are it for you to love them through it. Just reading the rest of the Scriptures that have been provided this morning has set my soul on fire and helped me to see why the enemy has been all over me. As the promises continue, there is a word in there that brings about a contingency. These things will happen “IF” you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted,” but what’s that mean? I believe what is being said is… “IF” you love your neighbor as you love yourself. If you do that your light will shine like the dawn in the darkness. What’s being talked about here in these scriptures is a person who is willing to set themselves aside. What they feel is important to them and think about the needs of others. A person who will go without so that others don’t have to. What Isaiah is telling us is that’s where healing comes from. that’s the kind of person whom GOD will get behind. Someone who thinks enough of others to set themselves aside and meet the needs even if that means not getting what they need. The promises that come to that kind of person are truly rewarding. The titles they will hold can not be given by man. Such as Repairer of the Breach and Restorer of the streets to dwell in. I’m not done here, but I have to go into the application process.
Application:
GOD is so selfless. Stepping out of glory to repair the bridge that we burned it the garden. It’s no surprise that that’s the same kind of person HE wants us to be. That self-sacrificing selfless individual who cares more for others and will set aside what they feel like they need for the good of others. I’m not going to lie. I have spent a lot of time on this earth trying to build my own kingdom, buying this and getting that. Riding on 2 wheeled status symbols, thinking I was doing something. Once, I truly discovered that life is not about me. Things changed. If we spend our days thinking about others instead of worrying about ourselves, our lives would be much more fulfilled. Over the past few months, I have had a burden on my heart. It’s a burden that has to do with others and how to show them the love of GOD. I have done my best to step forward and do something about it. Yes, it takes my focus away from the company GOD has given me. But I just want to show the people who are in the same boat I was that someone loves them. In whatever way I can, and the very simple gesture that GOD has laid on my heart has the potential to heal and restore the faith of others into humanity. It honestly brings back the question… What would Jesus do? I mean, seriously, what would HE do. HE would sacrifice HIMSELF for the sake of others. HE would set aside what HE wanted to the point of death on a cross. HE would love the unlovable and do the undoable. Self-sacrificing love is not an easy task. It may look like it’s all falling apart. But it’s actually coming together. If we could get away from thinking that this life is about our comfort and consider loving others in the same fashion that we are loved by GOD, this whole world we change. My challenge for you today is to consider others as more important. Set yourself aside and seek to build the kingdom. See if GOD will be your rear guard. See if HE doesn’t come behind you and do what only HE can do. Matthew, chapter 6 and verse 33, come to mind right now. “Seek first the kingdom of GOD and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. If you seek what GOD wants first. HE will make sure your needs are met. Spend some time today thinking about how to meet the needs of others, even if it’s at the cost of what you think you need.
Prayer:
Father, you don’t think like we do. You are willing to give it all for us. It’s a kind of love that is very hard to understand and honestly even harder to comprehend. As we go through our days, help us to consider how to show your love to those who are still oppressed and struggling. Help us not to point fingers of judgment and blame but to love the way that you love. It’s not our job to figure out why they are where they are its our jobs to love them through it. What we are asking of you today is that you allow us to see how you see to love the way you love and set our needs aside for the needs of those we see in our community that need to know that you still see them. Draw them to you father. It’s in the mighty name of Jesus we pray, amen