Tending Joy for Thursday, February 15

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15

Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?

Isaiah 58:6

Fast: from complacency

Yesterday’s prayer prompt invited you to reflect on the parts of your life that are yearning for joy’s return. Today, spend some time in prayer thinking about the circumstances where the whole world is yearning for joy: places of injustice and corruption, places where people or creation is held captive by a drive toward profit, and places of oppression. Fast from easy fixes and pat solutions today.

Don’t move too quickly toward hope or joy. Dwell with the challenge stirred up by the fast that God chooses.