“To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.” (Isaiah 61:3)
I awoke this morning with this song running through my mind. Hallelujah!!! This is the first morning in quite a while I have felt healthy in a while. Praise God!
This passage comes from truly one of my favorite passages of scripture. This passage was later quoted by Jesus in Luke 4:18 when He stood to read in the Temple. In this New Testament setting Jesus declares His mission. He came to reveal to us the heart of the Father. In so doing, He came to set captives free, restore sight to the blind, preach liberty (freedom and jubilee) to those held in bondage (of fear, debt, doubt). Glory to God! We, as Christians, follow in the footsteps of our Israelite ancestors who were delivered from the clutches of the Egyptians. Some of us are newly-released and facing the Red Sea, others are in the wilderness wandering period of our lives, and yet others have crossed over the Jordan and are in the process of taking the Promised Land by the power of God.
I encourage each of us (me included) to not be envious of those who are ahead of us in this journey. For those who have been recently delivered, I speak peace and strength to you. May you discover the roads cleared before you by those who have gone before. For those facing the Red Sea (of unbelievable or inconceivable barriers to your escape), I pray God will intervene on your behalf. May the daunting circumstances you face in your continued deliverance fall before you as did the walls of Jericho. May God supernaturally clear the way for you and allow you to pass over on dry land into the wilderness period. For those caught in the wilderness wanderings, I speak clarity of vision, a spirit of calm and comfort as God leads you by a cloud of His Presence by day and a pillar of fire by night. Fear not the enemies that lurk in the darkness of this period. They have already been defeated by the very God Who leads you. They may threaten, but their threats are empty – they have been stripped of their power by the blood of Jesus. Look to the One Who was raised on a pole and gain salvation during this time. For the rest who have already crossed over into the Promised Land – our work is not finished. We still have to unsettle those who are presently occupying that which God has promised us. He won’t allow us to charge in full speed ahead lest we be overcome by the land. Instead, our victories will come one city at a time, one mile at a time, one step at a time. Sometimes we will take large advances, other times we will struggle to maintain what we have already won. But rest assured, my fellow traveler, the path lies ahead and our victory is assured. We only need to continue pressing on toward the mark of the high calling which is in Jesus Christ. Our strength comes from the battles and our final reward awaits for us after we have helped our brothers and sisters coming along behind us into their promises.
Today my challenge to each of us is to identify the next battle (trust me, it will identify itself!), don our divine armor, and charge ahead. From our view the enemy is huge and well-equipped. But from the other side of the battlefied we hear the call of our Commander Who has pierced the enemy lines and stands on the completed side. Hear His Words of encouragement as He calls above the din of the battle: “Come, my child, IT IS FINISHED!”
Be blessed.
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