SOMETHING NEW TO WEAR

 JUNE 17, 2022

Isaiah 61:3

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, ...

3 To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,

The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

If you read all of Isaiah 61 you will find it is loaded with abundant and amazing promises from God to his people. If you listen to the words there you will no doubt notice that these promises were filled full of meaning and reality through Jesus. Well look at Verse 3 above, this one verse alone contains at least four promises that could occupy our thoughts for the rest of today. However, I want us to consider the one promise that says that God “will give us a garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.”

It seems that no matter what Bible translation you read this verse from, there is widespread agreement among translators that what God promises is a beautiful exchange of a heavy and despairing spirit for a garment (mantle) of praise. If you have the Amplified version of the Bible, you will see that there it describes the spirit of heaviness as 'a heavy, burdened, and failing spirit' that God wants to lift off us, and then clothe us with a renewed spirit, that results in praise.

Does that sound good to you today? I mean, we all get discouraged. We all despair at times. Truth is some of us perhaps struggle with this kind of experience more than others. It is part of the human condition.

Lately, we have seen a great deal of writing about “a heavy, burdened, and failing spirit” in our media and culture. Mental health has been in a prominent place, talk of depression, anxiety, and other struggles, have been getting the attention these conditions deserve. I am thankful that Counsellors, Social Workers, and the Medical field have helped us to better understand issues surrounding such health issues. I find that God’s guidance and wisdom has provided many helpful medical solutions to treat these conditions. We need to be wise and follow the advice of professionals if we are being treated for such a condition.

I believe we all know that there are times in life where a fearful thought or a discouraging thought makes us feel heavy and burdened? In today’s reading, we hear that God will give us a garment of praise in exchange for our heavy spirit.

I am not sure how it works for you, in my personal experience I have found that when I place my focus on praising God and reflecting on who God is, embracing his promises for me, my perspective is transformed. My outlook starts to change. I’ll be honest some days it takes a great deal of praising, and focus on God’s goodness and promises, yet even then the exchange God promises of a garment of praise for my discouraged and heavy spirit becomes real.

Today, I pray that we would be able to perceive the awesome greatness of our God. I pray that God would clothe us with a garment of praise in exchange for a spirit of heaviness. God is able!!