Words of Love
“Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me
with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Joel 2:12 NIV
Overcoming the Barrier
Joel was one of
the 12 Minor Prophets, not that he was under 21, but that his body of work was
brief. He prophesied to Judah, the Southern Kingdom of Israel, most likely
after the exile while the people were struggling with their identity and their
strained relationship with God. In the first chapter he speaks of the utter
destruction resulting from a nasty swarm of locusts and a grinding drought. But
with today’s verse from chapter two a glimmer of grace pierces the darkness of
disappointment and despair. One of the keys to pointing their broken hearts
back to God is fasting. But why, why fast? The idea of fasting, which usually
implies the self-denial of food, may have started in Leviticus when people were
told to deny themselves on the Day of Atonement. Later in the Old Testament we
begin to find passages that speak of fasting, usually in connection with
repentance for disobedience.
But the question
remains, why? Life involves a number of cycles or rhythms that shape our days
and direct our paths. Sleeping, working, playing, resting, and eating are
common rhythms that move us through our lives. When one of these rhythms is
interrupted, it has the potential to impact the others. Anyone who has endured
sleepless nights only to have to keep up their regular schedule will shout,
Amen! Eating is a powerful rhythm that, when interrupted by sickness or the
latest diet, causes collateral damage to the other life rhythms. More to the
point, interrupting our rhythm of eating can impact destructive rhythms such as
cycles of anger, despair, or addiction by alerting our conscience to a painful
rhythm we have learned to ignore. Fasting shakes our inner foundations and can
dislodge barriers that may be blocking our path to wholeness. It’s interesting
to note that 16 verses later Joel speaks for the Lord and says, “And afterward,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people…” Peter quoted this on the day of
Pentecost to describe the coming Kingdom. (see Acts 2:17) When the barriers are
brought down we make a path for God’s Spirit to roam in our spirit running out
the locusts that ravage our souls and ushering in transformation.
What about you
and me? While biblical fasting usually implies food, perhaps there is another
life rhythm that could be interrupted to bring clarity and allowing God to run
off some locusts and pour out some Living Water. Could we dare fast from
technology? Is there some black hole that is swallowing up precious time that
could be given up? Should we consider an anger fast? Mike Slaughter of
Ginghamsburg UMC suggests a 40-day fast from being jerk. How would that impact
the way we think and talk about others? What if everyone committed to that? One
thing’s for sure, we would have to suspend the presidential campaigns for Lent.
Prayer
Come Holy Spirit;
alert me to things I have grown used to that are conspiring to block your
live-giving breath. Shake my foundations so that barriers will fall and love
with flow. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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