A true message of hope

Isaiah 61:1-3
"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has appointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to announce that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord's favor has come, and with it, the day of God's anger against their enemies. To all who mourn in Israel, he will give beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning, praise instead of despair. For the Lord has planted them like strong and graceful oaks for his own glory."

I love looking at the heading the editors of my Bible attach to each text. In this case, it's very fitting. It states very simply "Good news for the oppressed". If anything this heading is an extreme understatement.  Take for instance verse 3 where Isaiah talks about what God will change. Ashes to beauty, mourning to joy and despair to praise.
It's a beautiful message of hope we can take with us to our darkest moments.
It's that portion of the text that seems to draw my attention, but when I read the first part it doesn't seem so simple.

It says the time of the Lord's favour has come. We often read in the Old Testament of God "turning away" from his people. Does he do that today? When we have bad times in our lives, are we simply waiting for the "time of the Lord's favour"?

I have more questions than answers, more confusion than explanation on this text. It talks about a joyful time for Jerusalem "and with it, the day of God's anger against their enemies." Why am I not entirely comfortable with that? I want God to be with me all the time, and I really want to enjoy the Lord's favour. But I am also told to love my enemies. Should I not than take sadness in the fact that God's anger will be directed against them.

Or are we even supposed to directly relate every word of this to our lives?
After all, this was God's message for Jerusalem a long time ago.

Let's start with what we know. This is a message of hope for the future that is as true now as it was then. God will comfort the brokenhearted, and a day will come when all prisoners will be set free. One day we will trade beauty for ashes, joy for mourning, and praise for despair.

I think God wants us to live in hope for that future, to use His word to prepare for that event, and to be reassured that no matter how bad things get... there  is an end waiting for us that we cannot even imagine.

Read further in this chapter, the description and metaphors create a wonderful picture.

Posted by Greg Vandermeulen