Encouraging Word #33

I have been battling a sinus infection for a few days. All of the congestion kept me up last night, so I was pretty tired when I got up at my usual time, 4:30am.  Also all of the pressure in my head makes my vision messed up and it makes it feel like my head is full of soup. I have trouble thinking clearly during these times. It is also easier for anxiety and confusion to overwhelm my cloudy mind. Today I just didn’t know how to pray because my brain was so foggy. I just sat quietly before the Lord and asked Him to speak words of truth and life to my weary body and soul. Instantly I heard Him say Read Isaiah 61. What an incredible passage it is. It is full of hope and promise. So, today’s word of encouragement comes straight out of the Bible.

The Year of the Lord’s Favor

61 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,[a]

2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor

    and the day of vengeance of our God,

to comfort all who mourn,

3 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.

4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins

    and restore the places long devastated;

they will renew the ruined cities

    that have been devastated for generations.

5 Strangers will shepherd your flocks;

    foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.

6 And you will be called priests of the Lord,

    you will be named ministers of our God.

You will feed on the wealth of nations,

    and in their riches you will boast.

7 Instead of your shame

    you will receive a double portion,

and instead of disgrace

    you will rejoice in your inheritance.

And so you will inherit a double portion in your land,

    and everlasting joy will be yours.

8 “For I, the Lord, love justice;

    I hate robbery and wrongdoing.

In my faithfulness I will reward my people

    and make an everlasting covenant with them.

9 Their descendants will be known among the nations

    and their offspring among the peoples.

All who see them will acknowledge

    that they are a people the Lord has blessed.”

10 I delight greatly in the Lord;

    my soul rejoices in my God.

For he has clothed me with garments of salvation

    and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,

as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,

    and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up

    and a garden causes seeds to grow,

so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness

    and praise spring up before all nations

In a time when it seems like darkness is winning and we are being overwhelmed by trials, This passage of scripture reminds us that our Faithful Father has so much good in store for us. When we trust in Him our future is bright. I don’t know what storms are overwhelming you today, but I encourage you to ask God into them and trust that He will lead you safely to the other side. Brighter days do lay ahead and we will see the fullness of God’s promises in the coming days.