Today’s Reading:
Isaiah 60-62
61 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
Isaiah 61:1-4
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 oaks of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
4 Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins,
They will raise up the former devastations;
And they will repair the ruined cities,
The desolations of many generations.
The Lord says,
My heart is turned toward those who were abandoned and forced to fend for themselves. The orphans and the widows. Those who had to raise themselves in the school of hard knocks. The lonely and the loners. My heart hurts for them and is is turned toward them.
The world seems more broken than it has ever been. People so easily discard, throw away and abandon other people. This is not how it was meant to be. This is not how I designed it, and it’s not how I designed you. I designed you for community and for family. I designed you for partnership, covenant and winning together. I designed you for overcoming together and celebrating together. I created you for heart-to-heart life. I didn’t create some to be loners. That is a lie! I created all for family and community.
12 And they will call them, “The holy people,
Isaiah 62:12
The redeemed of the Lord”;
And you will be called, “Sought out, a city not forsaken.”
My heart is turned to My abandoned ones, My wandering ones, the hurting ones and those determined to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. I Am moving in a great, generous move. Holy Spirit is flowing and is moving to touch and restore individuals, lives, hearts and minds that have been broken by trauma, abandonment, abuse, neglect and tragedy. Holy Spirit is moving and releasing peace, healing. He is restoring minds broken by PTSD, shattered by pain and hidden behind thick walls of self-protection. Holy Spirit is releasing generous waves of peace. He is countering anxiety and causing it to dissipate in the presence of His peace. That peace creates the environment for healing, for opening, for restoration and for the wholeness to forge healthy new connections.
22 “The smallest one will become a clan,
Isaiah 60:22
And the least one a mighty nation.
I, the Lord, will hasten it in its time.”
I Am moving to bring peace, healing and restoration to those wandering, isolated, abandoned and alone. I Am moving to bring them healed and whole into families and communities. I Am giving them new hearts that are capable of beating in sync with Mine, that are capable of of connection, friendship, intimacy and generosity. I Am breaking off old habits of hoarding, hiding and self-protecting.
2 The nations will see your righteousness,
Isaiah 62:2-4
And all kings your glory;
And you will be called by a new name
Which the mouth of the Lord will designate.
3 You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
And a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
4 It will no longer be said to you, “Forsaken,”
Nor to your land will it any longer be said, “Desolate”;
But you will be called, “My delight is in her,”
And your land, “Married”;
For the Lord delights in you,
And to Him your land will be married.
These will be known as the formerly wandering ones, the formerly lonely and broken ones, the formerly abandoned ones who met the Lord and were made whole, who stand tall, beautiful and shining, with no trace of regret or loss marking them. They are now marked by My grace, with hope, with My love and with connection. They are outcasts no longer. They are the ones set free.
How to Respond
- Set your heart before the Lord. Ask Him to heal any broken places and to completely wash over you with His perfect peace.
- Ask the Lord to give you eyes to see those around you who are hurting and lonely, so that you can reach out and show kindness and love to them.
- Declare, the Lord sees the pain, the brokenness and the loneliness of the people. He is moving to bring peace, healing, restoration and full life to them through Christ Jesus.
- Decree, the Lord will not leave His little ones abandoned. He is moving to bring peace, healing, restoration. He is moving to set them free from the bondage of the past, to make them whole and to set them into loving families and communities. His eyes and His heart is set on them.
- Pray, Lord, make me one who has Your heart for the people around me. Don’t let me walk by and allow them to feel alone, unloved, unnoticed or unwanted. Help me to be one who reaches out and draws people in with Your love.
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