The Lost, The Poor, The Homeless

In reading Ephesians, God sent me to Isaiah, and into a passage I could not shake:

Isaiah 58:6-12

"Is this not the fast which I choose,
To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the bands of yoke,
And to let the oppressed go free
And break every yoke?

Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry
And bring the homeless poor into the house;
When you see the naked, to cover him;
And not to hide yourself from
your own flesh?

Then your light will break out
like the dawn,
And your recovery will speedily
spring forth;
And your righteousness will go
before you;
The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.

Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
You will cry, and He will say,
'Here I am'

If you remove the yoke from your midst,
The pointing of the finger and
speaking wickedness,
And if you give yourself to the
hungry
And satisfy the desire of the
afflicted,

Then your light will rise in
darkness
And your gloom will become like
midday.

And the Lord will continually
guide you,
And satisfy your desire in
scorched places,
And give strength to your bones;

And you will be like a watered
garden,
And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.

Those from among you will rebuild
the ancient ruins;
You will raise up the age-old
foundations;
And you will be called the
repairer of the breach,

The restorer of the streets in
which to dwell."

So many, many things in that.

When I fast, why do I do it? For what? Is it to loosen the bonds of wickedness? Is it to let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke, or just most of them? Even if I leave one yoke, I am in bondage I should not be in. And what about this: Is it to divide my bread with the hungry? Is is to bring the homeless poor into my house, to clothe the naked, and not to hide from my own flesh?

Ha! I don't think so. Here it is, laid out: I just don't have an overwhelming heart for the lost. I don't. And that leaves me with this: Where is the fruit? Why don't I have a burden for the poor? I'm so content with my happy life, I leave no room for others. If I do, it is for my closest friends, not those who I don't know. This is just the complete truth of my life right now. I cannot sugarcoat it.

So, I am begging God to give me a heart for the lost. As I wrestle, I come face to face with this absence of love in my life.

But what if I fast for these things? What if I beg God for these things? Isaiah says things that I cannot comprehend with my mind. Earth shattering, glorious, beautiful, redemptive blessings.

"Then your light will break out like the dawn,
And your recovery will speedily
spring forth;

And your righeousness will go before you;
THE GLORY OF THE LORD WILL BE YOUR REAR GUARD. (my emphasis)

Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
You will cry, and He will say,
'Here I am."

Hahaha...that just makes me giddy. The Glory of the Lord will by my rear guard? Talk about an action hero. Ya'll just wait until I get that backup. Wow. I will cry, and He will hear me. Mercy. Amazing.

What about this: What if I stop pointing my finger at outside circumstances and people? What if I remove the yoke of the passive heart from my midst? What if what flows out of my heart is not wickedness, but, "good treasure." (Matt. 12:34-35/Matt. 15:15-20)

What if God rips my reliance on people and things away from me with the sweetest mercy in the world, and bends my knees so that I can rest my head in his lap?

What if through this fasting, the Lord has me give myself to the hungry, and satisfy the desire of the afflicted?

"Then your light will rise in darkness
And your gloom will become like midday.

And the Lord will continually
guide you,
And satisfy your desire in
scorched places, (Wow!)

And give strength to your bones;
And you will be like a watered
garden,
And like a spring of water whose
waters do not fail."

Please. Please do this work Father. Oh, what language God uses through His prophet Isaiah! He will satisfy my desire in scorched places? Thank you merciful Father, thank you. All those burnt desires in my soul--the desires in film, in love, in people--they will be satisfied by God for His purposes, and for His glory! Haha...wow.

What a change this would be. I am begging God for it to happen. Please, Father.