“Awake, awake, O Zion. Clothe yourself with strength. Put on your garments of splendor. O Jerusalem, the holy city; the uncircumcised and defiled will not enter you again. Shake off the dust; rise up, sit enthroned, O Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chain on your neck, O captive, Daughter of Zion. For this is what the Lord says, ‘You were sold for nothing, and without money you will be redeemed.’” (Isaiah 52:1-3)
This is a powerful exhortation. As we put our own names into this, it is a healing proclamation of redemption. The Lord calls us to wake up and take action. Yes, He is our Redeemer. But throughout this passage, the onus is on us. We must “awake,” “clothe ourselves,” “put on,” “shake off,” “rise up,” “sit,” “free ourselves.” At first glance, one might think the Lord is saying that it is up to us to “suck it up and rise above all our struggles.” “Get it together Sue. Toughen up. I have told you to work hard at your salvation. Be perfect as I am perfect. Be holy!” But actually, He is saying quite the opposite. We are to take action but the action is that of receiving the wonderful gifts of our inheritance. “Without money we are redeemed!” Jesus shed His blood for us. We have been bought with a price through His death on the cross. Now we must actively choose through our will and through prayer to receive all that our redemption brings. We must daily choose to put on the garment of splendor.
When Satan, the world, our minds, or people tell us that we are not valuable or that we are unworthy of love, we are to put on the honorable garment of splendor. When we feel shame because we stumbled in sin again, we must confess the sin and then walk in our forgiveness. He has given us the robe of righteousness when we received the gift of eternal salvation. Now we must wear this garment every day and display it in all its splendor to those around us. As we put on this royal robe, we will be clothed with strength. Shame weighs us down. Shame brings us back into a place of darkness. The Lord has “called us out of darkness into His wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9b). If we stumble and fall back into an unholy act, we are to confess this sin and take up this robe of righteousness again. Then we can radiate the holiness of God to those around us. We must shake off the dust, rise up again, and sit enthroned in our royal position next to our Lord (see Colossians 3:1-4). He has delivered us from captivity. We must daily awake and walk in our freedom.
-Sue Corl (Founder and Director of COBI - read more in her devotional More Beautiful by the Day)
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