Day 17
“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? Isaiah 58:3
I
remember hearing this illustration a preacher gave one time and it’s stuck with
me:
When
it comes to bed time, are you a mover or a non-mover? Are you one of those who lays down in one
pose and wake up in the same pose or are you the one who turns and moves and
flips and wakes up on the floor? One of
the problems that movers face is the blanket strangle: after
moving around so much, it’s easy to get wrapped up in a boa constrictor hold of
blankets and sheets. The worse part of
it is this “bondage” is happening all while you’re half asleep. You’re not sure what’s wrong, you just know
something is.
That perfectly describes where some of us find ourselves: bound
yet unaware. Perhaps we think this is
what “freedom” feels like all the while unaware that there is something holding
us back from being all God’s purposed us to be.
I’m reminded of how I feel when I walk through a web. Is there a worse feeling? I know something’s there. I just don’t know where exactly and how to get it off of me.
Isaiah’s speaking today about a freedom found in fasting. Fasting is the ultimate “death to self”
activity. Its saying: “I need God more than I need food.” It’s living out the verse that says, “Man
does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth
of God.” The flesh part of us is often
the unruly part where the enemy draws us into destructive behavior. Fasting weakens the flesh and strengthens our
spirit man.
I’m reminded of a movie where a man was using the metaphor of 2
dogs to describe two natures in him that are constantly at war within him. One wants good the other wants bad. He was asked which one wins. His answer has strong spiritual
significance: “The one I feed.”
I know exactly what’s winning in your life: It’s what you’re feeding.
Today, choose to feed your spirit and starve the flesh in order to live
in victory.
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