Warriors Arise: December 16, 2021
Isaiah 61:1-3 (NKJV)
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
3 To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”
When Jesus read from Isaiah things were not going well for the Jews in Zion, in Jerusalem. The Romans were ruling over them. Sure, they were allowed to worship God; but they no longer were ruling their own country. The zealots were trying to rid their country of Roman rule, the teachers of the synagogue were divided into the Saducces and Pharisees. They did not agree over the interpretation of the Scriptures. no one had seen the power of God move in their nation, in favor of their people, in hundreds of years.
Jesus would comfort them by demonstrating the love of the Father. He would intervene on their behalf, bringing justice. He was moved with compassion to fulfill His purpose so they could pray to God at any time. They would know the comfort of the Father through the compassion Jesus displayed. Jesus would console those who mourned, when He listened and acted in their favor. He heard the cry of the mother for her demon possessed daughter, the Centurion who wanted his servant healed, and the priest who wanted his daughter to live. Jesus took their hardships and gave them beauty for their ashes. He gave them the oil of joy that would never run out, like the living water, of which He told the woman at the well.
Jesus offered beauty for ashes, but they had to receive the beauty. They could cling to their ashes and see the beauty of what He offered. They could store their ashes in a vase to check on, to remember what they had been through. Jesus offers an exchange. They were to give up their mourning, their ashes, to receive the beauty of the cleansing freedom He offered.
We need to understand the great exchange regarding the oil of joy and mourning. We no longer walk in the heaviness of mourning. Our soul is to be free, even light, because we allow the oil of joy to saturate each part of our mind, will and emotions. When we allow the oil of joy to cleanse and cover our mind, will and emotions, we have the opportunity to be free of the heaviness linked to mourning. We have all lost. We have all faced devastating blows of adversity, but when we receive the oil of joy that Jesus offers those losses do not stick to us any longer and are healed as we walk in victory Jesus has brought us.
Make the exchange.You and I have a choice. We can continue to be in mourning or we can relive the beauty from the ashes. We can continue to be under the depression of morning and miss the easy flow Jesus provides with the oil of joy. It is a choice. Make the exchange and thank Jesus for coming to give you and I that opportunity.
Father, I am so thankful I can get rid of this mourning, because Jesus met me in my lowest lows and the deepest wounds I have been through. But I am not there now, because He has given me beauty for those ashes. I am not there, because I made the exchange. I will not remember those devastating times unless I am testifying of what Jesus did to get me out and the oil of joy I have now, because of the freedom He gave me. I celebrate the brith of Jesus Christ for the joy of the Lord is my strength in Jesus' name amen.
A Warrior in the Lord’s Army,
Veridee Joy Hand
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