Isaiah 58

In a magazine, I recently heard about live58.org, a movement to end poverty by really living out Isaiah 58. The first thing I did when I heard about this was to of course read Isaih 58. I could talk a lot about this chapter because it has to do with true fasting, but I am still very much praying over it and discerning how to apply it to Sundays, Tuesday fast, And life in general. But one verse in particular came up during today's fast:

The Word:
Isaiah 58:7
"Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter- when you see the naked, to clothe them"

Today I was getting my haircut, fixing a car problem, and generally just having an enjoyable afternoon to myself, thanks to my mom for babysitting during nap time! Normally, on an afternoon out like this, I would really make it a special day and treat myself to some fancy drink, cookie, etc. like they had at the mall where I was getting my hair cut. I paced by the delicious-smelling shop for a while, thinking how rare an occasion this was, I was out of town, no one would know or care if just had one little (or giant) colorful cookie...except
God. And He is really the one who matters. It's not about me being a person who keeps my
commitments, shows restraint, or feels good about myself, it's about growing closer to God and
truly believing that God satisfies. I walked away strengthened in the faith, but still
thought about Isaiah 58 in the sense that true fasting is not about giving something up, it is
about loving and serving others. So after I got my haircut, I pulled out my mom's credit card (thanks for the treat mom!), and I added the tip she said she normally gave. Out of great
thankfulness for her generosity, the peacefulness in the day, general gratitude to God for
drawing me to Himself, especially on this day, I added some money to bless her that I would
have spent on that giant cookie, or something else. I doubt that I was making the difference between her having clothes or food, but if we, as Christians, start truly living in this grateful, generous spirit, many others will be blessed and God will be glorified.

Prayer: For our thankfulness and devotion to God to translate to blessing others and bring Heaven to earth!