Day 4/ February 20 Isaiah 58:6 “No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people.
We’re not the only ones who may think fasting is a self-regulated, self-sacrificing practice. This prophet is speaking to a culture that, like many of us today, think fasting is something taken away, not added onto.
Do you hear the question in the back of your head, “What did you give up for Lent?”
Maybe we should hear this prophet’s words instead. His call to action is clear. Don’t give something up. Take something on.
One of the best missionary people I know gets this. She says, “The arm of the church is its missions.”
The pulse of the church is not the preacher, the silences, the sanctuary. No, the pulse of the church is the productivity in getting done what needs to get done. Missions? Yes, a team approach works! Spur of the moment care also gets it done, too.
TRY IT: Roll up your sleeves. Get involved. Literally and metaphorically, free those wrongly imprisoned. Lighten someone’s load. Remove chains that bind people.
PRAYER: Lord, we need our quiet moments, prayerful time. After this, help us realize the time to rally is now. The time to move is now. The time to go and do is now.