Today’s Scripture: Isaiah 61:7, NKJV- “Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; Everlasting joy shall be theirs.”
When the Spirit of the LORD comes upon us, we are blessed with purpose, passion, and provision. Isaiah 61 only has eleven verses, but Isaiah covers a lot of ground. We find God’s promise of everlasting joy for us. Isaiah’s promise to the people of Zion is our promise.
Although we may have endured shame, heartbreak, and darkness in our lives as did the children of God in Zion, the Spirit of the LORD not only turns these experiences into joy but an everlasting joy. We become priests and ministers of the LORD in the land we now find ourselves as Isaiah promised in Isaiah 61:6
We can be encouraged that we are equipped to live out the rest of our days as Isaiah spoke of in Isaiah 61:7. We can choose to embrace our shame but not live in it. We can trust that the LORD and His Holy Spirit will bring us honor in the land we have found ourselves. We can own this land and live in God’s everlasting joy.
We are told in Isaiah 61:8 that our LORD loves justice. In His faithfulness, He will reward His people and make an everlasting covenant with us. Whose faithfulness? God’s. Because we have a Heavenly Father who loves us and has called us, we can answer with an everlasting yes. Although our faith can wane at times the faithfulness of our LORD is forever.
As in the time of Isaiah 61:9, the people of this world will acknowledge that we are a people blessed by the LORD. As Isaiah 61:10 promises, as we greatly rejoice in the LORD, our souls shall be joyful in our God. As we rejoice instead of living in shame our soil is being prepared as Isaiah 61:11 promises. Our gardens will spring forth before all the nations.
How do we come to know this everlasting joy? We do as Isaiah confesses in Isaiah 61:1. We can accept that we have been anointed to proclaim the good news of our LORD to the poor. Whether these people are poor in spirit or resources we have good news for them. We have been sent to comfort the brokenhearted. We can do this because we serve the God of all comfort. Because our God has comforted us in our troubles, we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God as promised in 2 Corinthians 1:4.
in addition to comforting others, we can help free them from whatever keeps them captive because our LORD has freed us. We can help release others from the darkness they have found themselves in because our God brought His light and His Spirit into our darkest places. With the light and love of God we are prepared to faithfully share God’s everlasting joy.
Will you share the favor you have found in the LORD’s faithfulness and joy today?
Today’s Prayer: Our Father in heaven, thank You for Your faithfulness and the comfort of Your promises. We are praying that Your Spirit come upon us so we can serve as the priests and ministers You desire. Help us to free those who are enslaved by hopelessness so they may receive Your comfort and everlasting joy that we confess now that we possess. Use Your light from our darkness LORD so we can break the prisoners free, and all nations will know You are LORD. Amen.
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