There isn’t a week that goes by where I don’t hear a story about someone who is caught in the trap of drugs or alcohol. What it does to the person, and the damage it causes in the family is heartbreaking. So many people are searching for answers on how to overcome it. Isaiah shows us how to break the chains of sin in our life. It’s through the spiritual discipline of fasting.
Isaiah 58:6
Isn’t this the fast I choose: To break the chains of wickedness, to untie the ropes of the yoke, to set the oppressed free, and to tear off every yoke?”
Going thru the Motions
This chapter in Isaiah is one of the most well known on fasting in the whole Bible. It shows us the power of fasting as well as the pitfalls. Israel had been fasting for generations. It was part of many of the ceremonies and feasts that were celebrated. The problem was that it had become a ritual, and they had forgotten why they were doing it. When appropriately done fasting can break the chains of wickedness and set free those captive to sin.
Besetting Sin
Are you struggling with what they call a besetting sin? Besetting means something that is continuously present or continually threatening. This is a perfect definition for those sins that have a stranglehold on us, and we can get free from them. Fasting is a spiritual tool that can have a dramatic effect on our lives. The Desert Fathers said, “When the monk’s body is dried up with fasting, it lifts his soul from the depths. Fasting dries up the channels down which worldly pleasures flow.” That’s pretty powerful.
Break the Chains
Break the chains that are holding you down. Set aside some time too fast and pray. Start small with one meal of sun up to sun down but implement it and see what God does. Don’t make it about weight loss. Sincerely seek the Lord to be set free from the yoke of sin in your life. Cry out to Jesus for mercy. I think you will be amazed at what happens.
