Day #21

One of the things God desires from us is to help the oppressed, feed the hungry, and be kind to the foreigner.
We see this come up over and over again in the Bible - in both the Old and New Testaments.
Isaiah 58 is one specific passage that highlights this invitation and responsibility.
God corrects the people in their fast before Him.
So passionate about this message, God doesn’t just “tell” Isaiah to “speak” to the people. No, God specifically instructs Isaiah to:
“Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
Raise your voice like a trumpet.”
God wanted their attention.
This is no soft spoken encounter. This was God instructing His messenger to stand up, shout, and scream out His word.
If you’ve been around toddlers before, it was almost like one of “those moments” when out in public at a shopping centre or the like where the toddler is “expressing themselves” so loudly and passionately that everyone in earshot turns to have a look.
God was wanting to get the attention of His people.
Today I ask you, what is God trying to tell you in this fast? What is He trying to shout out loud to you?
Sometimes we get so consumed with our check-lists and to-do lists, that we don’t stop to hear God speaking to us. We ignore His voice, paying attention to the shouts and demands of the world around us.
As God “spoke” to His people, He challenged them.
Is it only one day that they would bow their heads in prayer or is it only for one day they would humble themselves and then go back to rebellion? God was calling them to more - to be different - to choose Him every day.
He was calling them 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
We are chosen to be different.
Different in the way we speak, the way we interact, the way we live – we are called to action! With this call to living differently than the world comes God’s blessings. Be a light shining in the darkness, a well-watered garden, and one who rebuilds that which has been broken.
Scripture Reading
Isaiah 58 [NIV]Reflection Prompts
How can you quieten the world around you to hear God better?
What is God trying to tell you? What is he trying to shout out loud to you?