“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, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 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.” (Isaiah 61:1-3)
This passage of scripture starts out with an interesting, yet complex declaration, “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me.” In Luke 14:16-21 Jesus is handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah in the synagogue, reads chapter 61, and proclaims that, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.“
John 14:12 tells us that “…whoever believes in Me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these.” Whoever means anyone. Whoever means everyone. As we put these pieces together it becomes evident that the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me…and He’s on you too!
Choosing to Exchange
We have access, by the Spirit, and are empowered to choose to exchange our ashes for beauty, mourning for joy, and despair for praise (see Isaiah 61:3). Jesus’ death on the Cross gave us access to exchange thing things of this world for our Heavenly inheritance.
There is a cost to making any exchange. We may have to forgive. We may have to face pain. We may have to feel and walk through shame. We may have to let go. None of these things are fun, BUT any exchange we make with Jesus is always an upgrade.
He’s waiting and willing and wanting to give us all that He paid for on the Cross. May you choose to make an exchange…or two…