Fast or Faithfulness?

A fast is a useful spiritual discipline – giving up something harmful, physically or spiritually, for a period of time. Many observe this during Lent, surrendering alcohol, unhealthy foods, or social media. Others fast simply for health. Either way, it's a great way to remove something negative and help us reset. Yet there's an irony: the word "fast" in English has two meanings – to abstain, and quickly. That double meaning captures exactly what tends to happen. We give up a bad habit for a short stretch, then quietly return to our old ways. Before long, we're back to the unhealthy food, the toxic scroll, the same patterns. Nothing has changed. Breaking a negative habit is good, but it has little value if we simply drift back to where we started. "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 58:6). God wasn't calling us to do this once, briefly. This is a way of life. He wants a fast that matures into faithfulness – not a short abstinence, but a lasting transformation of how we live. What fast could you turn into a daily, permanent practice? (Craig B). Open Bible – bit.ly/Isa58v6