What hunger does fasting satisfy?

When saying goodbye to a highly valued colleague on her retirement, someone commented that they would miss her “refreshingly different view of things”. This was an affectionate way of describing her ability to address critical points, focus on the essentials and often surprise us with unexpected solutions.

God also has a different view - a view that goes deeper than our own understanding. In Isaiah 58, it becomes clear that God sees Israel's fasting with completely different eyes than people do. The Israelites sought God's will and emphasized their earnest desire by fasting. Outwardly, this looked like devotion, a spiritual act that was intended to please God. But God's perspective reveals an uncomfortable truth: Their fasting remained without real change in their hearts.

While they practiced abstinence, they ignored the groans of the oppressed and overlooked the plight of the weak. They sought God, but not justice. They wanted to be heard, but they did not listen themselves.

Fasting is more than just giving up food. It is an invitation to inner conversion. It is not about rushing through the day on an empty stomach but with a full schedule. It is about detaching ourselves from everything that closes our hearts and opening ourselves to what is important to God: justice, compassion, reconciliation.

Micah 6:8 sums it up aptly: “You have been told, O man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you: to do nothing but keep the word of God, to practice love and to be humble before your God.” Isaiah describes it in concrete terms: “Loose the bonds of injustice, give freedom to the oppressed, break every yoke!” (Isaiah 58:6).

God's heart beats for those who are in the shadows. His fasting has the power to break down walls - walls between people, but also walls that surround our own hearts. When we begin to care for those who need help, when we share what we have, when we carry the burdens of others, then something wonderful happens: the light breaks forth like the dawn. Healing flows, not only to others, but also into our own lives (Isaiah 58:8).

Perhaps God is also challenging you today to rethink fasting. Where is He calling you to open your eyes? Where is there someone around you who needs your hand, your ear, your heart? Perhaps the fasting that God wants you to do today is not the renunciation of bread, but the renunciation of indifference. And perhaps this is precisely how you will be most deeply satisfied.

Next Step: Ask the Holy Spirit to show you anew today what fasting means for you.