Dear friends,

Hope you’re keeping well & excited in this festive season… I’ve missed you guys a lot. For those of you who don’t already know, I recently got married – hence my silence for a while. I thank God for His mercies on my life .

Like I promised in the last Tender thoughts, I continued my meditation on Isaiah 58. I have attached the full scripture excerpt from which I’ll be sharing on today (verses 1-6). Verses 1 & 2 is included to give you some context although I’ll be focusing on verses 3 to 6 today.

If you are a regular church attender, and have attempted to fast at some point with the church, you would notice that the verses to follow are very common in the fasting prayer sessions. They are usually used as a motivation or encouragement on the benefits of fasting. While reading this scripture again I found that this scripture is more than a fasting buffer. Yes, it does talk about the rewards of fasting, but there’s more! And I wanna share…

Contrary to popular belief, God was not actually asking them to fast on that occasion. It seems like they were already in a period of fasting and He was tired of seeing what His people were calling “fast”. He got bored of their show of righteousness because none of it was moving Him to take action on their behalf. Like a movie director while watching a particular act, He said “CUT!!!” and decided to send them this message. He was actually rejecting their fast, and teaching them how to fast and reap the benefits thereof! In verse 5, He says “…Is this what you call fasting?”

He saw their efforts but He also knew that He wouldn’t act if things were not done properly & so decided to teach the children of Israel a beneficial lesson!

I found this pretty interesting and have gathered a few fasting lessons/tips that I’ve learnt & would like to share:

Lesson 1: No fighting and quarreling (verse 4). I think this speaks for itself. In Hebrews 12:14, it is written “Try to live at peace with everyone…” There’s no point fasting when you’re still carrying malice or bitterness towards others or when you’re still at loggerheads with your brother or sister. God says this is part of the reason He is not moved by your long-suffering fast!

Lesson 2: Treat those who work for you fairly & fight for those who are being treated or judged unfairly (free those who are wrongly imprisoned) when it comes to your attention (verse 3 & 6)
In response, you may say, but I am just a mere soul, nobody works for me… Really? Let me show you a lil bit…

At the office, we have secretaries, PAs, tea ladies, junior team members, IT support staff etc. In fact, anybody who is there to make it easier for you to do you job, is working for you. God is telling us to carefully identify these people & make an effort to treat them fairly. He’s also asking us to stand up for the dignity of others who struggle to speak up for themselves in the midst of affliction. You may know of a work mate or colleague or friend who keep getting trampled on at the office or get given tonnes of ridiculous tasks to complete. Pray that God will give you a voice for such people.

At home, we have cleaners, gardeners, security guards, handymen. We need to treat them fairly & with respect – whether they have offended you or not. The fact that you probably make more money than them doesn’t mean that you should order them around like soldiers or make a public show of it when you have to discipline them. Pray that God will give you the grace to always deal with them in love, in all things as Jesus requires.

In the community, we have the local government & federal government who pay the social workers in clinics, orphanages, HIV centers etc. They provide us with the basic amenities to live a decent life in our society. Where do you think they get that money from? Please pay your levies and taxes! Whether they spend it in your preferred proportion is not your business. You deal with that when you vote & when you pray. Jesus said in Matt 22:21 “Give to Ceasar what belongs to him”. They are various other scripture support this fact.

You can populate this list with other places you can think of where people work for you…

The bible also says we should lighten our workers’ burden. Don’t be the kind of person that creates a bigger mess or piles up nasty tasks because you have people who will clean up after you or complete them for you. Be fair. Remember the Golden Rule given by Jesus in Matthew 7:12 “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you”.

Friends, this is where I end today’s thought. I’ll continue with the lessons in subsequent verses in the next Tender Thoughts. Till then, meditate on these things.

Feel free to visit our link and give comments at: http://tender-thoughts.com

Love you!
Ufuoma

Isaiah 58:
1 “Shout with the voice of a trumpet blast.
Shout aloud! Don’t be timid.
Tell my people Israel of their sins! 2 Yet they act so pious!
They come to the Temple every day
and seem delighted to learn all about me.
They act like a righteous nation
that would never abandon the laws of its God.
They ask me to take action on their behalf,
pretending they want to be near me. 3 ‘We have fasted before you!’ they say.
‘Why aren’t you impressed?
We have been very hard on ourselves,
and you don’t even notice it!’
“I will tell you why!” I respond.
“It’s because you are fasting to please yourselves.
Even while you fast,
you keep oppressing your workers. 4 What good is fasting
when you keep on fighting and quarreling?
This kind of fasting
will never get you anywhere with me. 5 You humble yourselves
by going through the motions of penance,
bowing your heads
like reeds bending in the wind.
You dress in burlap
and cover yourselves with ashes.
Is this what you call fasting?
Do you really think this will please the LORD? 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.