Isaiah 61:1-3 “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me…He has send me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners…to comfort all who mourn…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.”
As I read these verses, it struck me that these are all feelings that we as abuse survivors, experience. Broken hearts, captives to low self esteem, self loathing and addictions that come from those emotions. We are in dark places, we mourn, we feel like our lives are in ashes and finally….how much have you experienced despair? I know that throughout my life, at times, this has been a strong presence in my heart.
But what is the true point of these verses? It is what the Lord wants to do with these feelings and emotions. He wants to bind our broken hearts. He wants to set us free from captivity. He wants us to walk in light. He wants to comfort us in our mourning. And this is one of my favorites: He wants to take away the ashes of our lives and exchange them for a crown of beauty and bestow on us a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
So, how do we experience these things that our Daddy wants to do for us and give us? It is simple and very difficult at the same time. We have to surrender ourselves to Him, with the ashes and pain in our lives and trust that He will keep the words above. The Bible says that His word does not come back to Him without results and I can attest to that personally throughout the years of my life. Does restoration happen immediately? No. But I can assure you that over the years of surrendering to Him and begging for His help….much has been restored to me. It will be the same for you if you take firm hold on Him and cling to the truth of His promises.