ESOCS Devotional 21 February 2025 – True Worship
MEMORY VERSE: ““Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? Wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labors.” Isaiah 58:3 KJV
TEXT: ISAIAH 58:1-14
“Cry aloud, spare not;
Lift up your voice like a trumpet;
Tell My people their transgression,
And the house of Jacob their sins.
2 Yet they seek Me daily,
And delight to know My ways,
As a nation that did righteousness,
And did not forsake the ordinance of their God.
They ask of Me the ordinances of justice;
They take delight in approaching God.
3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen?
Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’
“In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure,
And exploit all your laborers.
4 Indeed you fast for strife and debate,
And to strike with the fist of wickedness.
You will not fast as you do this day,
To make your voice heard on high.
5 Is it a fast that I have chosen,
A day for a man to afflict his soul?
Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush,
And to spread out sackcloth and ashes?
Would you call this a fast,
And an acceptable day to the Lord?
6 “Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’
“If you take away the yoke from your midst,
The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
10 If you extend your soul to the hungry
And satisfy the afflicted soul,
Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,
And your darkness shall be as the noonday.
11 The Lord will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
12 Those from among you
Shall build the old waste places;
You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach,
The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.
13 “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath,
From doing your pleasure on My holy day,
And call the Sabbath a delight,
The holy day of the Lord honorable,
And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways,
Nor finding your own pleasure,
Nor speaking your own words,
14 Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord;
And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth,
And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.
The mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Read Other ESOCS Devotional Here
From our text, some of the Israelites presented their religious behaviour before the Lord, but wonder why He was not answering them or responding to their religiosity. They fasted, but there was no response from God. They offered their sacrifices, but there was no one to accept them.
Yes, they were performing religious rights, but they were insincere, which was manifested through their unrighteous behaviour. One must not assume that the religious rituals one may practice are a manifestation of humble heart. One is not also declared righteous by the insincere performance of religious rituals. The deception was that they had created religious behaviour after their own desires. But they deceived themselves into believing that they performed religious ordinances. Their apostasy was not that they became irreligious, or gave up faith, but that their religious behaviour became insincere.
Today, many Christians behave the same way. Apart from fasting, the faith of many has been lost in candle, incense, and other spiritual materials such that if they bring them during prayer or to church, for them, that is true worship. What a deceit!
From the above, we can learn that fasting can be beneficial spiritually and physically, but at its best it helps only the person doing it. What God wants is for our service to go beyond our personal growth to acts of kindness, charity, justice, and generosity.
Pleasing God is more than what we don’t eat or don’t do; it is what we do for Him and for others. The spirit of true fasting involves humility and a lifestyle of mercy.
CHALLENGES
- Many church leaders have failed to educate their flocks properly on what fasting is.
PRAYER POINT
- Dear Lord, give me the understanding to know what true worship entails.
FURTHER READING: Isaiah 58; Zechariah 7:4-6
ESOCS Devotional 21 February 2025
