Did You Really Fast for Me?

Daily Devotional – Friday, February 23, 2024
Did you really fast for me – For Me?
Zechariah 7:5 (NKJV)

The Jews that Prophet Zechariah is ministering to have sent representatives to the temple to ask whether they should continue with the fasting they had been conducting during the seventy years of exile.

Do You Do It for Me?

Through Zechariah, God replies, “When you fasted and mourned, did you really fast for Me—for Me? When you eat and when you drink, do you not eat and drink for yourselves?” (Zechariah. 7:5-6). God is not happy with the people’s love for empty rituals. He defines His preferred form of fasting when He asks, “Should you not have obeyed the words which the LORD proclaimed through the former prophets?” (Verse 7).

In addition to obedience, genuine fasting, and worship in general, it entails practicing social justice, as this passage states: “Execute true justice. Show mercy and compassion, everyone, to his brother. Do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the alien, or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in his heart against his brother.” (Verses 9-10).

Did You Really Fast for Me?

In the modern church, the situation is not different. There is an emphasis on form and ritual at the expense of supreme love for God and service to humanity. We still love putting up large churches with powerful public address systems and state-of-the-art technology, while our hearts are devoid of the love of Jesus.

Jesus poses the question today, “Do you really fast for me or for yourself? Do you attend church and participate in religious activities because you love me or to please the crowds? Does your treatment of others demonstrate that the Holy Spirit is working in your heart?

Prayer
Lord Jesus, teach me how to practice genuine faith that is evident in my character.