The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
Because the Lord has anointed me
To bring good news to the afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to captives
And freedom to prisoners;
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
To grant those who mourn in Zion,
Giving them a garland instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.
So they will be called oaks of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. ~ Isaiah 61:1-3
Hundreds of years before Jesus came to earth, Isaiah prophesied this hopeful message. God doesn’t promise us that His people won’t be afflicted, but He does promise that He will bring good news to the afflicted. God’s people will be brokenhearted, but He will bind them up. They will mourn, but He will comfort them. He will turn their mourning into gladness and give them a mantle of praise. They will be called oaks of righteousness—so that He may be glorified. We can count on God’s promises that no matter what we go through, He will be with us and comfort us. We are the recipients of God’s grace so that God may be glorified.
Thank You, Lord, that You will turn my mourning into gladness, my fainting spirit into praise. Make me an oak of righteousness, Lord, that I may bring glory to You. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
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