“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.” Isaiah 61:1-3
This morning I found myself sitting again in these words and being encouraged and built up by the Lord. Isaiah spoke these prophetic words of the Messiah who would come and would do each one of the liberating, life-changing, world-shattering things mentioned in the passage above. In Luke 4:18-19 Jesus quotes this Isaiah passage, in the temple, shortly after beginning His ministry. He ends the reading by saying, “Today, in your hearing, the Scriptures have been fulfilled” (Lk. 4:21b).
Jesus came to fulfill the promise that the Messiah (Anointed One) would come.
He came to offer you good news, dear sister, to bind up your broken heart and help you work through pain and sorrow. He came to proclaim freedom in those areas of your life that hold you captive, those lies that feed your mind, those strongholds that have taken root and you can’t seem to break. He came to shine light in your darkness, to expose areas of sin, unrepentance, unforgiveness, pride and resistance against God, so that you might receive freedom and walk in it. He came to break the bondage that keeps you a prisoner to certain sin patterns or thoughts that you know don’t please God. He came to bring justice (often futuristic) to those who have sinned against you. He came to give you a crown of beauty, dear sister instead of the ashes that represent mourning, suffering, aliments, loss, and emotional, physical, spiritual distress. To give you joy instead of mourning, joy in the midst of trials. He came to clothe you with a garment of praise, instead of a spirit of despair, to well up praises in your heart that flow out of a genuine heart of worship to God, even in the midst of life’s most challenging and painful seasons. He came to give you a new identity and use you, your life, your gifts, your talents, your skills, your passions, your heart, and your desires to display Him for all to see.
Dear sister, Jesus offers you today an abundant life. Come and receive from Him.
Confess the things that are keeping you back from walking in His truth, break ties with anything that is in opposition to Christ, and receive the gifts He has to bestow upon you.
Today's Bible Reading: Isaiah 61
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