To the Oak Tree. Good News! There Is Hope!!
Isaiah 61:1 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; 2 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, 3 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 [d]oaks of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
I want to glorify the Lord. Don't you? Of course, you do. So we glorify the Lord by taking this message of hope to a lost, dying, and hopeless world. But we need to have this message of hope refreshed in our hearts too. If God gives me life here on earth until Christmas day I will rejoice over the hope He has placed in me. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. What is this hope? It is the kind of hope that takes broken, defeated lives and makes them whole and right-side up. It is the kind of hope that changes mourning into dancing. It is the kind of hope that makes us glad instead of sad. Life changing hope. Satan hates this hope and wants to defeat the hopeful people of God by causing us to look at the bad and miss "the hope!" Verse1 says a lot about this hope. Are you brokenhearted? God is there for you in the power of the Holy Spirit. Let Him minister to your soul and find liberty in His HOPE! Are you bottled up in a life that has made wrong choices? You will find freedom in the hope that God gives to those who are captive in their past. Freedom in Christ is real and empowering. Are you sad? Then let the oil of gladness change your position from the heart out!!
What is the result? You will be an oak of righteousness that is planted by God and your roots are strong!! So don't doubt, don't fade, don't despair. Because Jesus gave everything He could give to offer us this HOPE!! Good News!! There is Hope!!!
The Pilgrimage Continues.....
David Warren