Sept 27th - Law of Fast

True law of the fast with its attendant blessings:

Isaiah:58:5-12

"Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord?
Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward.
Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:
And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in."


He tells us first what fasting ISN'T. Its not to afflict your soul. It is not merely a ritual to be done.
The Lord explains what fasting is truly meant for: to loose the bands of wickedness, undo heavy burdens, let the oppressed go free, break every yoke! To give of your substance to those who have none (sounds like fast offerings!).

Then the blessings! The endless blessings.

I love how he says "Then shall thy light break forth as the morning". When does morning come? After night, after darkness. A blessing to you is that you will be a light that breaks the darkness.
Your health shall spring forth speedily.
The glory of the Lord shall be your rearward. Rearward is another way of saying rearguard. Rearguard means "towards the rear"... meaning the glory of the Lord will follow behind us, behind our works. He will consecrate our choices.
When you pray, the Lord will answer.

Here's a really neat blessing, and a really beautifully painted way of saying it... "If thou take away (so take away these things!)from the midst of thee the yoke (put away what's burdening you), the putting forth of the finger (pointing fingers/scorn/blaming others), and speaking vanity (being proud),
and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry (so the spiritually hungry), and satisfy the afflicted soul...

HERE"S THE BLESSINGS!...
"then shall thy light rise in obscurity (darkness), and thy darkness be as the noonday."

Lets look at this..."THY darkness be as the noonday". Your darkness. Not someone else's. Your darkness will be as noonday. What's so special about noonday? Its the brightest part of the day! The peak of sunlight!
Your darkness will be as noonday. What a sweet blessing. It reminds me of the scripture in the Book of Mormon Ether 12:27 (weak things become strong).

Basically, if you stop fretting about your own worries and burdens, and rather reach out and help others... your own problems will be taken care of!

BLESSINGS CONTINUED...

The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought. Are you spiritually hungry? Looking for answers? Your soul will be satisfied.

And make fat your bones. Why are bones important? They hold your body together! They protect your vital organs. The Lord isn't going to physically bless you with fat bones, he is going to bless your spiritual bones. The things that protect your spirit and make you the glorious being you were created to be... will be added in great measure. Your spiritual bones will be made fat.

And thou shalt be as a watered garden... what does a watered garden do? Prospers! Grows! This is your blessing...

And like a spring of waters, whose waters fail not... AKA abundant life.

And one of the last blessings mentioned
"and they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in".

I only want to point out one particular line, "The repairer of the breach". A breach is a violation or infraction of a a law, trust, faith, or promise. You will be the called the repairer of the breach.

So many blessings!!! Puts a new perspective on the purpose of fasting, right? Let's not just go hungry this Sunday! Don't be a part of verse 5! Be verse 6 and 7!

So why do we have the law of fasting? To loose the bands of wickedness, undo heavy burdens, let the oppressed go free, break every yoke! To give of your substance to those who have none.

And if that wasn't enough to convince you, there are so many more blessing that come from a true fast. 

Having depression, I can relate really well to darkness. To be able to have the blessing of having your darkness turn as the noon day sun? That's enough to convince me to be better about not starving on fast Sundays, but truly coming to know what it means to fast.... so that I can claim those blessings as my own.