Isaiah 61:1-3 (NIV) The Year of the Lord’s Favor
61 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, 3and 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.
Are you looking forward to the New Year with eager anticipation? Are you expecting God’s blessings in the coming year? Remember, you bring about what you think about! What are you thinking about?
Isaiah was a prophet of God and said a lot of things that God told him to say. He lived 750 years before the birth of Christ. He conveyed messages God wanted us to understand. He told us that God wants to bless us! If we follow God’s ways, we will be blessed. But there is a catch! Actually, there are several catches. You see, we have to first, believe in God. Second, we have to believe He wants to bless us. Third, we have to believe that He has the power to do so. In Matthew 9:29, Jesus said “According to your faith let it be done to you”… Do you believe these things?
Also, there is another principle at work here. It is the principle of exchange. A crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning…… In other words, you give God your ashes and He will give you His crown. You give Him your mourning and He will give you joy. It doesn’t sound like a bad deal to me. You have to be willing and take the action step of letting go of ashes and mourning. You have to let go of the hurt, let go of the shame, let go of the mourning and whatever else you are holding which keeps you from His blessings.
I heard a story of how trappers catch monkeys in Africa. They fill a barrel with bananas and drill a hole in the side of the barrel only big enough for a monkey’s open hand. When the monkey reaches in and closes his hand around the banana, he cannot withdraw his hand through the hole. At that point, the trapper approaches and throws a net over the monkey. You see, the monkey is not willing to let go of the banana so he can escape. He is caught by refusing to let go of that which traps him. Is that how you are? Are you unwilling to let go of the hurt of the past? People fear change. Is that why you want to remain where you are? The devil you know is better than the devil you don’t know.
Do you believe God wants to bless you? Do you feel worthy of His blessings? A long time ago, God told Abram that God will bless you! In Genesis 12:2, God said 2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you;……. and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” All peoples on the earth! Huh! That includes you and me.
So, go out and live blessed, love blessed and be blessed! Let others see your good works and praise your Father in heaven.
Lord, You said that You would bless us all. Help us to have faith that You will do just that. Remind us of the many stories throughout the Bible where You made a promise and then kept it. If You were faithful then, help us to understand You will be faithful now. Help us to let go of that which binds us and trust You for our future. In Your name we pray! Amen!