Outward-Focused Fasting
Oct 25 2024 - Eric Buresh
Fasting is a fantastic way to experience closer communion with the Holy Spirit in often very special ways, and I know whenever we touch on an experiential aspect of our faith, some can get a little protective of their expression of that experience. So, let me say off the start, I don’t think there is a “right” way to fast. It should be a Holy-Spirit led exercise, which means it will look different from person to person.
Fasting was a tough practice for me as I was growing up in my faith. When I tried fasting, I often felt guilty as I became consumed with a sense of pretense in a religious ritual. All I could think was that I was performing some self-inflicted suffering to earn favor with God, and it pushed me away from God instead of increasing my union with Him. I confessed this to one of my mentors, and he shared with me a practice of fasting I’d never heard before – abstinence from selfishness through outward-focused fasting. The idea comes from Isaiah 58:3-11 (creatively titled “Fasting that Pleases God” in the NKJ). This passage opened my eyes to a concept of fasting that was life-giving to me.
In that passage, we find a people that fasted, prayed, and sought God’s favor, yet they wondered why He did not respond to their cries. The answer is given with divine clarity: God is not pleased with outward displays of piety, but rather desires a fast that brings us into alignment with His character of justice, mercy, and love. It is a fast that breaks the bonds of wickedness and cares for the needy. A fast that brings light into darkness, healing to the broken, and the presence of God into our midst.
The Lord begins by asking, “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loosen the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?” Fasting that pleases God involves loosening the bonds of wickedness in our own lives and in the lives of others. As part of your fast, consider choosing a particular sin that you’re struggling with, and doggedly abstain from it through the period of the fast. This loosens the bonds of wickedness in your life. At the same time, find ways to undo the yokes that enslave other people—whether they be yokes of poverty, discrimination, addiction, or any form of oppression. Give up your time and resources to undo those bonds. In so doing, abstain from selfishness. An outward-focused fast.
The Lord continues, “Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?” Fasting that pleases God involves not just the renunciation of food, but the sharing of food. It is a fast that reaches out to those in need, that provides for the homeless and offers clothing for the naked. This is a fast of compassion, a fast that embodies the love of Christ. This out-ward focused fast can be practiced in many, many activities.
When we fast in this way—in a way that reflects God’s heart of righteousness, mercy, and compassion—there are two glorious promises attached. The Lord says, “Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.” Furthermore, the Lord promises, “[I] will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.” What promises! Closeness with our Father, guidance and sustenance from our Father, light and grace emanating to others through us, and glory to our Father! For me, this type of outward-focused fast bodily reminds me of the character of my God, and it brings me into closer unity with Him, which is the aim of any fast. So, if you’ve struggled spiritually with other forms of fasting as I have, maybe give Isaiah 58 a careful read and see how the Holy Spirit leads you.