The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed and qualified me to preach the Gospel of good tidings to the meek, the poor, and afflicted; He has sent me to bind up and heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the [physical and spiritual] captives and the opening of the prison and of the eyes to those who are bound,
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord [the year of His favor] and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,
To grant [consolation and joy] to those who mourn in Zion—to give them an ornament (a garland or diadem) of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, the garment [expressive] of praise instead of a heavy, burdened, and failing spirit—that they may be called oaks of righteousness [lofty, strong, and magnificent, distinguished for uprightness, justice, and right standing with God], the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. [Isaiah 61:1-3 AMPC]
REFLECTION
This passage is so weighty and rich with meaning. There is so much to mine, but as I prayerfully pondered it today, I sensed the Lord speaking to my heart in a very specific way…
Years ago, a beautiful exhibition at The HK Museum of Art highlighted my own issues with beauty. I had dressed up that day. I felt fabulous and inspiration was flowing. But, in a mere moment, things were turned outside-in.
As I left the museum, the sun was starting to set and the sky — God’s canvas — was so beautiful that I immediately captured it and shared the photo with loved ones, who promptly praised the beauty of the sky and environment far more than they praised my polished prose or the pictures I’d sent of myself …and I felt a twinge, like my own unique expression of beauty had been politely dismissed. This twinge reminded me to tend to the beauty within, more than using so much precious time to preen and pose (and polish my prose). Yes, physical self-care and unique expression are important, but there is a greater beauty still — the kind of beauty that turns to Christ and consciously cultivates kindness. It’s with this renewed awareness that I prayed and found I was given grace to guard my heart with gratitude and be more gracious towards myself and others.
Let’s keep the gaze of our hearts fixed on the source and perfect expression of imperishable beauty – our Creator. Let’s fill our hearts with the beauty of timeless truth found in His love letter to us – the Bible – and trust His beautiful Spirit to enlighten us, that we may become so full of blessed beauty that it spills over and creates beauty on the canvas of every day life, that will forever be in the halls of Heaven.
PRAYER POEM: Timeless Truth
Our caring Creator ~ only Your sacrificial love can cure our vanity and selfish tendency that mars our beauty.
Only Your kindness can cut rotten roots of resentment and provide a remedy for wounding that bore blindness.
Only Your power can strengthen me to continually sow the timeless truth of Your Word into the well-tilled soil of my soul, that sprouts freedom and blooms boldly as I become beauty(full) and whole.
