Trading Fasts for Feasts

Date: Wednesday, July 22, 2026

Today in Church History: On July 22, 1620, a congregation of English separatists, who we know as the Pilgrims, boarded the Speedwell in the Netherlands to begin their historic journey to the New World, stopping briefly in England to transfer to the Mayflower, and ultimately arriving in America four months later on November 21.

Readings: Zecharaiah 8 | Psalm 20

Zechariah 8 seems like an average day: old men and women sitting in the streets with their canes, and boys and girls playing in those same streets (8:4-5). Not a grand scene, just a neighborhood that finally feels safe enough for children to play and adults to relax. That’s what God’s shalom looks like on the ground.

Then comes the twist: the fasts Israel had kept to mourn Jerusalem’s destruction will become “joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts” (8:19). Grief has a shelf life in God’s economy. He doesn’t ask us to mourn forever; He’s constantly working history toward feasting, culminating in the wedding supper of the Lamb. The chapter closes with people from every nation saying, “We have heard that God is with you” (8:23). It’s a preview of the global reach of the gospel. And it’s happening all around us, right now.

Devotional Prompts:

• What grief in your life might God be quietly working to transform into future gladness?
• How does the image of children playing safely in the streets speak to your longing for a renewed world?

Prayer: Faithful God, thank You that mourning is not the final word over my life. Turn my fasting into feasting in Your timing, and teach me to trust Your name above every substitute security I reach for. Amen.