Isaiah 61:1-3
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, 3 To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”
See what I mean? Such goodness. It speaks for itself, but allow me to paraphrase this awesome passage if you will...
Jesus came to heal my broken heart. My heart that had been wounded so greatly as a child, He came to heal. Your heart, perhaps wounded in the same manner, or through a different relationship, or through a job loss, or through a health setback, or through a financial crisis, your heart too, He came to heal.
He came to set me free from the prison of shame that I lived in. He set me free from the prison of worthlessness and inferiority. He set me free from a prison of bitterness and un-forgiveness. He set me free from numerous things that if time permitted, I'd keep you here at least an hour. And He came to set you free too. From whatever prison has held you, He's already set you free. From whatever prison may still hold you, know that He has already unlocked the door for you. It's time to step out of the door. It's open.
He came to give me beauty for the ashes that I found myself sitting in. He came and took a mess of a life and turned it into something so beautiful that I can hardly contain my thankfulness! The life I get to live now is nothing short of a miracle when you look upon the ashes I once was in. True beauty. He came to do that for you too.
He came to give me joy in the midst of sadness. He came to remind me that this is just a temporary existence, I'm simply passing through this life. This is not my permanent resting place. And because of that, I can walk through the sorrows that this old world can bring with my head held high, full of joy, knowing that I'm on my way to a place where God will wipe every tear from my eye. I'm going to a place where there is no more sorrow, there is no pain. So while here on this Earth, I'll do my best to be all I can be for Christ, living a life full of joy, in hopes of taking some other folks to that same great place I'm headed. He came to give you that joy too.
Oh man, now this one brings me tears. He came to give me a garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Now hold onto your hats folks, because I'm liable to sail away on this one. Anyone felt a heaviness that you just could not shake? You ever felt so weighed down with the cares of this world that you could not bare to get out of bed? Heaviness. Ugh. We have all been there. We have all faced some things that truly seemed insurmountable, and as a result, a spirit of heaviness sets on us like a thick, wool blanket. A spirit of heaviness will steal your joy, it will steal your love for life, it will steal your relationships, it will steal your will to press forward...unlesss. Unless.
Unless you stand up, adjust your posture to that of royalty, shake off that old wool blanket that's been draping you for far too long and you begin to SHOUT!!!! SHOUT! SHOUT!!! Shout out the goodness of our God! Shout out that He is your redeemer! Shout out that He is your provider! Shout out that He is your Savior! Shout out that He is your deliverer! Shout out that He is your way-maker! Shout out that He is your love! Shout out that He is your song! Shout out that He is your protector! Shout out that He is your vindicator! Shout out that He is your righteousness! Shout! Shout! Shout!
My oh my. What a great God we get to serve. I love this last part as well, "That they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified."
God planted me on purpose. You ever plant something in your garden, and those pesky little weeds pop up and try to take out the thing you planted on purpose? Drives me batty when that happens. What I planted on purpose is meant to flourish, not the weeds that try to come in and overtake. You were planted on purpose. Don't let a spirit of heaviness set in and overtake what God has planted on purpose. Don't allow that blanket to sit on you another day. You were planted on purpose; that you would bring glory to the Lord. Everything you & I do will face a consequence, be it good or bad. May our choices bring glory to God. May our choices be made out of a righteous heart, because He has made us righteous. Because He has made us joyful. Because He has made us free. Because He has made us on purpose.
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