The common non-religious fasts we see in the world are for personal physical health and ultimately the goal for these is for us to exert control over our bodies. In contrast, the ultimate goal of fasting in a Christian context is to give control of our bodies over to God.

When we fast we are demonstrating that we don’t live on bread alone (Matthew 4:4), but instead rely on God for sustaining us. Does that mean that we have to fast from food then? Absolutely not- you can fast from anything that separates you from relying on God. For many people this is food and if it would not harm you medically I would encourage this form of it at least once. However there are many other good options like fasting from social media, your phone, all news for a week, etc. One thing we have to be wary of in a religious context is fasting for the wrong reasons. By this I mean using fasting not to align with God, but to try to appear more godly or prove something to yourself- to get what we want. This is what we see in the story of Isaiah.

“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.
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.
‘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.
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.
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?
“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?
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? —Isaiah 58

Growth Challenge- Fast for the right reasons

According to Isaiah there are some things we must do while fasting. To fast properly and effectively we must be looking to God and doing his will. Isaiah shows us that fasting should actually drive us to live better while we are doing it.
-While fasting we must use our positions to bring justice to those without it.
-While fasting we must help those in need and the homeless.
-While fasting we must be like Jesus: Bringing restorative justice and fighting for the least of these.

Choose what you will fast from and try to fast from that either today or tomorrow. Take time during your fast to actively and prayerfully help others, enact justice, and serve your neighbor.