the field.

God listened.

Went to Northstar bible study tonight, knowing full well that I needed a break and an escape to God. We have been discussing spiritual warfare, but our leader, Zac, was called to a different topic tonight: true fasting in Isaiah 58, and the cost of being a disciple in Luke 14. Check this:

Is this not the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice, and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry, and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter, when you see the naked to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry, and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. —Isaiah 58: 6–10

Crazy, right?  "Here Linds, I'm inviting you to unyoke and pick up my lighter load." 

And reading this reminded me of study on Tuesday, where we discussed keeping a Sabbath, and truly giving a day of the week to God, work-free. And then look what came next:

If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath, and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight, and the Lord's holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way, and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land, and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob. —Isaiah 58:13–14

Woah. Needless to say, another "rock my world" moment. Talk about a direct answer. Freedom.  T H E   F I E L D.

Now I am dying to let God twirl me... but that doesn't mean it's going to be easy; I still want to succeed in my plans, and ultimately, keep control. The yoke is heavy, but it is in my hands...

 

I got my answer. Now to wave my white flag...