1 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,
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 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.
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,
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 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.
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.
Many Christians believe that Christ died for our salvation, and he did, but that is not the end of the story. In his great mercy, he died so that we could be set free! And sadly, free is probably the last word that the world would use to describe the church today. The Lord desires healing for his children from the brokenness of our pasts. He longs for us to be free from the chains we too often willingly carry. Chains to sin, unforgiveness, regret, shame... So in the context of this God who loves us enough to suffer on our behalf, look at this passage of scripture as a love poem, our God, a fierce lover, coming to reclaim his bride from the enemy. But not only is this the story of how our saviour came for us; it is a call to all people who claim his name. As the body of Christ, this is what we should look like to the world! We have good news to proclaim! We know brokenhearted captives. We have friends and family trapped in darkness.
I am just a twenty-year-old learning how to be a woman of God. I mess up, often, but his grace abounds. I grew up in the church but only truly committed my life to him four summers ago. Then in the fall of '09, through a quick series of events my whole life kind-of turned upside down. As strange as it sounds, I'm very thankful for that time because it began a healing process in me that was long-overdue. The past year and a half has honestly been the hardest season of my life but also the most full of joy and hope and light. I'm beginning to live in a freedom that I never knew existed, freedom from things I didn't even know held me captive. I have seen healing in relationships that I had almost given up hope on. My God has proven himself more than faithful. As he is redeeming my past, he is drawing me closer to himself. And as he is making us new, he says we will be like oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
I know that my story is no more extraordinary than yours. We are all broken and in need of a saviour. I still have much room to learn and grow. So I invite you into this movement that I'm in (or that we're all in) from brokenness to restoration. God is making everything new! And that is certainly good news worth sharing!
