“I will tell you the kind of fast I want: Free the people you have put in prison unfairly and undo their chains. Free those to whom you are unfair and stop their hard labor. Share your food with the hungry and bring poor, homeless people into your own homes. When you see someone who has no clothes, give him yours, and don’t refuse to help your own relatives. Then your light will shine like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your God will walk before you, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind. Then you will call out, and the Lord will answer. You will cry out, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you stop making trouble for others, if you stop using cruel words and pointing your finger at others, if you feed those who are hungry and take care of the needs of those who are troubled, then your light will shine in the darkness, and you will be bright like sunshine at noon. The Lord will always lead you. He will satisfy your needs in dry lands and give strength to your bones. You will be like a garden that has much water, like a spring that never runs dry.” [Isaiah 58:6-11]

Reading verses six through seven was a reaffirmation. It was like God was saying “Yes, fast from what you always have said you would. You don’t have to just refrain yourself from doing certain things, but you should be doing other things as well. You should be serving others. Free yourself by freeing others. Give to those in need. Lend a helping hand.”

But not only am give to those in need, I’m supposed to help my own family as well. A week ago, my family and I had a very big discussion on things wrong within family. It was a much-needed, five-hour discussion. We talked about everyone’s ability to quickly say to each other “Yeah, God first. Seek Him. Pray to Him. Family is here. God is here” and our inability to actually follow through. There are points where we’ve become so selfish and self-absorbed that we couldn’t see there was trouble under our noses. There has been so many instances where our family has been to blind to see what was underneath the surface of each other. I want that to change.

Verses eight through ten are wonderful. God is saying “If you do these simple things, these small little actions, I will bless you. I will be with you. You will be strong, happy, healthy, full of light, made new. There is so much good waiting for you if you’re willing to obey.” These tasks are so small honestly. It doesn’t take a lot to help someone. It’s better to spend your energy helping someone, bringing a smile to their face, instead of sitting idly and selfishly. People are trapped in such dark areas of their life. If I can’t be a light, what am I even doing? I know enough to not be phased by the darkness. I know enough to be a ray of light in the world around me. I may not know to who I am actually being a sun. I have a Light in my life. A Light that never goes out. There’s plenty of Light to go around. I have to share where there’s a need.

I pray first and foremost for my family. That they each be transformed by God. I pray they continue to seek the blessings God has for them. I pray they never stop being lights in the world around them. I pray for those in need. I pray for the oppressed, the sick, the wounded, the weak, the persecuted, the heartbroken. May they receive the light they need ever so badly. As a new semester arrives, I pray for my professors. May their hard work and dedication be noticed. I pray for their hearts; may they be kind and compassionate. I pray for the peers that I have yet to meet. May they survive this next semester. May they be filled with strength and constantly encouraged to pursue their goals. Same goes for my current friends. I pray they are blessed wherever they go. May their spirits be lifted, may their hearts remain gentle and humble. May I be a ray at least when I know they’re in the dark. I pray for those friends that I don’t really talk to these days. The same desires are prayed upon them. If they’re meant to be my friends forever, may they gravitate back towards me at their own will. I leave the doors to my heart wide open. I pray I continue to walk as I talk. I know I’ll fail, but I pray for the courage to press on. May I continue to grow strong in the Lord. May my faith become unshakable. My hopes unbreakable. May I grow like never before.