Day 21
Day Twenty-One: It Was About the Heart
During this 21-day devotional, we have explored a fast that God prefers.
At no point in Isaiah 58 did God lay out a menu of the type of foods He prefers.
Rather, this fast is all about our actions toward others, our speech toward others, and our prioritizing His Presence.
The fast that God prefers is actually not about food at all.
It is about the heart.
God addresses a question Israel had asked Him in verse 3: “‘Why have we fasted’ they say, ‘and You do not notice?’”
Israel had the rituals of fasting down to a science, but they had neglected what God preferred…the attitude of the heart.
When Jesus was asked what is the greatest commandment, He actually replied with two:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Matthew 22:37,39
At the center of both of these commandments is love.
The Apostle Paul encourages us to pursue love as our highest aim in life (1 Corinthians 14:1).
There are many voices in life promising fulfillment, success and victory, but there is only one true source from which comes a life worth living.
Our Heavenly Father, who dearly loves His children, is that Source.
And He asks that we love Him and each other the way He loves us.
Although we may never arrive at complete perfection in these areas, there is a host of blessings that await us just for trying.
And with each step in the right direction toward others and pursuing God, our hearts align His heart.
God is love.
Love is what He prefers.
During this 21-day devotional, we have explored a fast that God prefers.
At no point in Isaiah 58 did God lay out a menu of the type of foods He prefers.
Rather, this fast is all about our actions toward others, our speech toward others, and our prioritizing His Presence.
The fast that God prefers is actually not about food at all.
It is about the heart.
God addresses a question Israel had asked Him in verse 3: “‘Why have we fasted’ they say, ‘and You do not notice?’”
Israel had the rituals of fasting down to a science, but they had neglected what God preferred…the attitude of the heart.
When Jesus was asked what is the greatest commandment, He actually replied with two:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Matthew 22:37,39
At the center of both of these commandments is love.
The Apostle Paul encourages us to pursue love as our highest aim in life (1 Corinthians 14:1).
There are many voices in life promising fulfillment, success and victory, but there is only one true source from which comes a life worth living.
Our Heavenly Father, who dearly loves His children, is that Source.
And He asks that we love Him and each other the way He loves us.
Although we may never arrive at complete perfection in these areas, there is a host of blessings that await us just for trying.
And with each step in the right direction toward others and pursuing God, our hearts align His heart.
God is love.
Love is what He prefers.
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