My favorite verse(s)in the bible have to be hands down Isaiah 61:3, 7-9 and I recently made an unusual but delightful discovery about this very verse in a very intersesting way, by noticing broken glass during my daily quiet time with the Lord one morning.
As I sat in my lawn swing listening to the birds sing and mediating on the Lord's word I noticed a piece of broken glass. No big deal right, people break glass and carelessly leave it in places someone could really get hurt. But I noticed something as I slowly bent over to pick it up, the light was hitting it just so and I saw the most beautiful color's cascading in all directions. Then it hit me this piece of broken glass resembles broken lives. Hopes that are shattered, hearts left broken, marriages busted into pieces, and dreams splintered. Kids that you lovingly raise now blame you for the mess in their own lives, spouses that abandon us, and a childhood we wish we never remembered. Brokenness comes in many ways and in many forms even through many different people. There is good news though, just like the light hitting the broken glass, so our lives too can become more beautiful after the brokenness than if it had not happened at all. Only our great God can reach down and touch our lives and give us something magnificent from an otherwise painful experience.
I was recently talking with a friend of mine about diets and food in general what we should eat and what the experts say is the best food. My friend said something I found interesting, she said " Well, it's not just the food we eat I think it has a lot to do with portions." That was when we arrived at the candy counter of our local grocery store and almost perfectly timed we both blurted out " And you can give me a double portion of chocolate" Isn't it true though everyone knows anything good we want more of and anything we dislike we want no more of. Just like in life when someone is good to us then we want more of them, to be around them more. But when someone mistreats us, shames us, and robs us we want nothing more to do with them. I had someone say to me once after her husband had mistreated her and badly hurt her " I know God tells me to forgive those who do me wrong and that he is my defender, but I wonder sometimes if he even sees the tears I've cried or knows the pain I feel" Those are some very good questions and I am thankful she remembered what God had said about forgiveness.
Have you ever felt wronged or possibly shamed by someone close to you? Maybe you have felt robbed or cheated by a spouse, close friend or family member. Have you ever found yourself wondering if God even noticed? Well, let me assure you if you are one of his children he noticed and he has something to say to you and a promise made just for you.
My own childhood was one of great disappointment, shame and a lot of pain for many years. Until one day I was reading my bible one morning and came across Isaiah 61:3,7-9
And for the first time hear God speak directly to my brokenness with the most amazing promise of hope. In Isaiah 61:3 it says " to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes; the oil of gladness instead of mourning; and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair." Wow! God spoke to my spirit and said My child give me the ashes, the ruins of your past and I will give you a crown of beauty and exquisiteness in return, release your sadness and sorrow into my care and I will bless you with gladness and toss aside your worn out spirit of despair, misery and depression and I will clothe you with a garment of praise. How amazing and what a spectacular hope filled promise from our Father. I began to cry when I realized for the first time that God does take notice of the pain his children feel. Not just the pain occurring in my life at that moment but also the hurts of yesterday. He noticed how the harsh words of a loved one cut me; he saw the despair left inside my heart because of a divorce, and he noticed the lingering depression after a close family member died. He didn't just notice he promised to heal the pain, carry the burden and make me even more beautiful than I was before it ever happened. Just like that old broken piece of glass transformed by the light, the light of God we have within us.
The next promise found is in Isaiah 61:7-9 "Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs. 8) For I the Lord love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity, in my faithfulness I will reward them and make an everlasting covenant with them. 9) Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the people; all who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the Lord has blessed" The first thing I would like you to notice is in verse 7 he uses the word double portion not once but twice. The first time he uses it right away saying" instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion" he takes note of the shame his children have had to endure in life. And he immediately counters it with a promise to give them back double for their trouble.
Tell me who else in your life has ever made you such a promise? How many people in your day-to-day life ever even really take notice of your shame for that matter? People today are in such a me, me, me mode and rushing around from one place to another they hardly notice their own pain much less someone else's. God loves us so much that not only does he tenderly whisper to us " I have seen your humiliation and it pains my heart" but also he attaches a magnificent promise to give you back not just what you lost and not only healing from your shame but to give you back double, twice over what you suffered. How can we not accept and be excited about such an amazing promise. He continues this promise in the next verse with another assurance "They will receive inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs" At that time land and livestock were extremely important to the people of those days. The land represented life for them just as our daily jobs do for us. The land was their main food source for both the people and their livestock. The more land you had the wealthier you were considered to be, just as the higher up the " Corporate ladder" you are the more money you make. Now that land is understood let's examine what God was saying.
I believe he is telling us I have noticed your shame, and I am going to bless you twice over for your trouble and I am also going to make you twice as prosperous in your finances, family, marriage, and livelihood. You will no longer feel depressed, embarrassment, disgrace but you will be filled with everlasting joy. Now notice he said joy not happiness, those are two different words and meanings. Happiness is based off of your circumstances, how well things are going at the time. Joy is being satisfied or content when things are not the way you would like them. Happiness comes from the world; Joy comes from knowing and trusting the Lord. The next verse is my favorite and one of the most profound statements I think he makes in this entire chapter of Isaiah. It begins with such authority " For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity." He is telling us how he loves fairness and again declaring that he noticed his children were not being treated fairly in his eyes. In the bible the word hate is an incredibly strong word especially when paired with the name of the Lord. When God did not like something the word dislike, unhappy, discontent, unpleased, and it is even said he hides his face from those he is unpleased with. Very few times is the word hate really mentioned because it is such a strong emotion even for God. We know God hates sin; he hated it so much his sent his only son to die on the cross so that we may be forgiven of it and have a loving relationship with him once more. In this verse we see the word hate used when talking about robbery and iniquity (evil, injustice, wickedness.)
When someone shames you or mistreats you they literally rob you, a person whose spouse had an affair robs the other of trust and security vital to a relationship. This is what I believe God meant when hating robbery, he hates the act and the affect it has on the one it is being done to. Lets look at the final verse, verse 9 " Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the people. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the Lord has blessed" In this verse he is simply saying he will bless you so much that even your children will be blessed and he goes on to say and your grandchildren will be blessed. You will be rewarded to such an extent that everyone who sees you will know you are blessed and that it comes from the Lord.
All of these promises are breathtaking and at the same time very comforting to the spirit, which is, what I believe God intended them to be for those who trust. However as free as his promises are and as wonderful as they are intended to be we do have to do our part to receive them. First and foremost he merely asks that you accept his Son Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior and that you acknowledge he died for your sins, and finally that you recognize you are a sinner in need of his forgiveness in addition to asking him to forgive you of you sins. If you have done this or you are already one of his children, then you must receive these promises as true and trust him, no matter how long it seems to be taking. One thing you need to keep in mind God Cannot Lie! If he promises to do something he will do it. In Proverbs 3:5-6 he tells us just this " Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your path straight" One thing you can keep in mind is if you are a parent or maybe an older sibling how does it make you feel when someone picks on or mistreats your child? Don't you think you Father in heaven dislikes it when someone mistreats one of his children even more. The last thing I would like to point out is the "F" word; yes that's right forgiveness. In order for God to step in on our behalf and fulfill his promises to us, we must be willing to submit to his requests. He will lovingly defend you but he can't do it without you forgiving that person or people who wronged you. By forgiving them you have said " God, I trust you completely" Does this mean you like what they did to you? Of course not and you may still be hurt by it but in order for him to work on our behalf he needs you to forgive and release all of it into his hands. I know you will not regret it and you will see your brokenness shine in brilliant color and multiple directions when you allow the light of the Lord to fall upon you.