Matthew 6:16-18 Fasting For Righteousness
Matthew 6, part of the sermon on the mount, seems to be about a Christian’s walk & relationship with God the Father. Jesus has expressed that it is very important to make your devotion about God real & not performing a stage act, like a professional actor. He began the Biblical topic of fasting & told us to make it look like to others, we are perfectly okay & not make it look like we are starving to death. The word fast appears in the Holy BIble 112, but it has a few different meanings. But the word fast here is not about being quick, it is about restraining oneself from eating, but a person can refrain themselves from anything like tv, video games or social media. Fasting is usually done when a person needs direction from God, & they do without food & go into deep prayer & want God to reveal to him or her. One of my favorite Biblical examples is when Queen Esther was concerned for her Hebrew people & the plot to have them all killed. So she sent a message to ask all her kinsmen to fast so that God would help her save her ruled over & loved.
Esther 4:15 Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, 16 “Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa, and fast for me; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maidens also will fast in the same way. And thus I will go into the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish.”
The main lesson Jesus is teaching here in Matthew 6:16-18, when you fast, don’t look like to the world you are suffering & telling others you are hungry as hell. Make your appearance seem normal, your fasting is between you & God & no one really needs to know. Wash your head & put on a fresh face. If you are sincere & want the Lord’s direction He will give it, but not to the public world. His answer will come to you, in your heart & mind. Most times God’s greatest blessings are just between you & Him in secret, of course others will see it. Rather in fasting or enjoying a daily meal, always reflect God’s glory in your life. God bless you all, the Lord loves you & so do I. Sam H.
