#oaksofrighteousness

‭“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord 's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.”‬‬ Isaiah‬ ‭61:1-3‬ ‭ESV 

Most churches stand upon this well-known passage of scripture. Jesus came to bring freedom. His same spirit now lives within us and we are called to do the same. But the part of the scripture that stood out to me this morning was that all this would happen “...that they may be called oaks of righteousness...” 

THEY (easily could insert WE): those who were broken, who were prisoners, had shattered minds, who had nothing to give. God declares that they will be “oaks of righteousness.” 

the most broken become the most stable and deeply rooted. But they don’t stop there. 

The next few verses declares how THEY will then be the ones to build up the ancient ruins; THEY will raise up things formerly devastated; THEY will repair cities; and THEY will heal generations beyond them. 

We are called to bring mankind that freedom through the love + power of Jesus. This serves as a catalyst, for then they will be solutionists in a world full of problems. We who were once broken are not to stay in that place, and we also aren’t healed simply for ourselves to then live a nice life. But so that others may receive wholeness and restoration also!

This leads me to ask myself a question and also offer an encouragement:

Am I doing what God called me to do in verses 1-3? 

If you are going through something, don’t give up! The things we face are so much bigger than just us making it out in the other side. Your wholeness is coming and carries freedom+hope not only for yourself but for your family, your city, and will bring healing to generations before and after us.

Keep pressing on. 

“I'm sure about this: the one who started a good work in you will stay with you to complete the job by the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6

xoxo,