True Fasting.

While I eagerly wait, for the final details to be worked out for my fund raising efforts, my wife (Lindsay) and I have decided to take a bit of a media fast.

We have been praying over some tough decisions, upcoming, and decided that it would be a good idea to fast, in this time, from two of our biggest vices...Facebook, and YouTube.

We decided to fast from these things, because it's not possible for Lindsay to do a traditional fast from food. She is nursing our, now almost 6 month old, daughter Maeli. For her to physically fast, from food, would not be healthy.

Sure, I could fast from food, but we decided we were doing this together, so it only makes sense to fast from the same things.

So, now that we sorted all of that out, let's get to the fasting...

We began our fast this past weekend, and I think I started the fast with all the wrong intentions, and 'methods' (I say methods, because I can't come up with another word). It's not enough for me to just 'take a break' from Facebook, and YouTube, I need to have a purpose behind it.

In this time, I have decided to study on prayer, and the true meaning of the fast. Isaiah chapter 58 punched me square in the face (coincidentally enough, in the NIV, the heading for Isaiah 58 is 'True Fasting').

Let's break it down.

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 house 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?'

I know it's a large section of scripture, and it could probably be broken down much more than I am about to, but there is one clear point being made here, and it strikes home for me.

Going into this time of fasting, I was simply looking for an answer to a question. I thought I would 'show God' that I was dedicated to this prayer, and search for an answer, by fasting. Really, shouldn't it be as simple as that?

'Alright, God, I am fasting. Now that you see how dedicated I am by taking time away from Facebook, and YouTube, can you give me an answer?'

It's not nearly that easy, so let us continue.

"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 a man to humble himself?
Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed
and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD ?

This is where God punched me in the face (not with wicked fists), to drive a point home. I am fasting only for myself. The only thing I have changed, in this fast, is the amount of time I spend on social networking and mindless entertainment.

I honestly think that I have just found other ways to fill that time. Instead of Facebook, I check out sports stories and stats. Instead of YouTube, I search for new bands to listen to.

One minor fraction, of fasting, is the actual fasting. As I continue on...it will only become oh so clear.

⁵ Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
only a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed
and for lying on 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 him,
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]">[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 on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob."
The mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Need I say more? I think the Word of God is sufficient here (as always).

Fasting is about more than me refraining from Facebook, YouTube, or eating. It's about, essentially, all of those things, and living in full pursuit of being a Christ-like as possible.

It's not enough for me to just say that I am giving up something, for awhile.

Look at the promises God makes, if you pull through. I don't know about you, but this one passage of scripture is pretty inspiring.