Thoughts that have come from various quotes taken from the book, "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim Based Society" by John H. Hovis. Click here to link directly to the audio file.
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"When a person gets stuck in the mourning process they are often stuck trying to find an answer as to why the bad thing has happened to them. Sadness takes over. Despair often rules the life of a person determined to deal with the “Why?” that now haunts them so completely."
As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 141.
There is an interesting progression in our quote from today. Being stuck can lead to sadness. Staying in a place of sadness can often lead us to despair. This progression is like a merry-go-round. With every lap we go round, being stuck, sadness and despair seems to grow and grow.
There is nothing like the feeling of being trapped to make us say and do things that can be damaging to ourselves and to the ones we love. When we are trapped in the feeling that we might never understand why badness keeps happening to us, the circle of despair starts in a big way in our lives.
It is only natural to want to know why bad times are happening. Sometimes the answer to that question might even help us to change in ways as to keep those same bad things from happening again. Unfortunately, there are times when "Why?" just can't be answered. The things of this world always can't be figured out and that makes it possible for us to step into places where our being stuck makes victim thinking a real possibility.
It is when we are stuck on the question "Why?" that a profound sadness can come over us. Have you ever been in that place? I sure have. It isn't a place I soon want to revisit. Reality is, I will - so will you. That sadness is something that is almost too much to bear. That's why I think the feeling of despair is so close behind the feeling of profound sadness. Despair happens when hope is all but gone. That deep sadness that comes when we are stuck, sucks the hope out of our lives in victimizing ways.
Today's Bible reading is a favorite for many who follow Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself quoted this passage from the Old Testament when He walked this Earth. He indicated, in His teachings, that He is the fulfillment of what Isaiah had said so many years earlier. This verse is critical for those of us who might find ourselves stuck from time to time. Let's read it now.
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,[a]
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair. Isaiah 61:1-3 (NIV)
I love how this passage starts. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me..." When you feel stuck, this is the place to begin. We need to be reminded that this statement wasn't just for Jesus alone. This verse is for you and for me. Even when we are stuck in that place of searching for the answers as to why the bad things happen to us, we are still anointed and filled with God's Holy Spirit. This fact should give us a confidence that no answer to our "Why?" questions will ever be able to provide.
I've been in places where I have had to say this line over and over again. I needed to remind myself that I am chosen, I am commissioned and I am equipped to deal with all life tosses at me. This isn't a hope in my life, it is a statement of fact. The death of Jesus guaranteed that Isaiah 61 would be just as true for Jesus as it is for you and for me.
Never forget the fact that God's Spirit is on you. It is on you for a reason. Look at the purpose of God's Spirit being on you. You are anointed to bind the brokenhearted. You are purposed with freeing the captives. You are empowered to release the darkness that emprisions so many of us. You are authorized to proclaim God's coming with power. You are prepared to bring compassion to those who mourn. You are resourced with all you need to provide beauty, joy and praise to ALL those who grieve. Wow - that's a job description I just don't know how I could ever live up to, particularly when I'm the one that is brokenhearted, a captive, emprisioned, mourning, grieving and in serous need of God's power to be revealed in my life.
Maybe that's God's purpose in the first place. Maybe it is when we are in serious need of someone to be an Isaiah 61 kind of person in our lives that God's power is revealed as we become that kind of person in someone else's life. I have found that nothing gets me out of being stuck better than when I am part of the process at helping someone else get unstuck.
Notice the last line of today's reading. It says, "...a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair." Despair is something that has its roots in the spiritual world. There is a darkness to despair that, I believe comes from the pit of hell. God is warring against this, and many, many other spirits in the Kingdom Building plans He has entrusted us with. Choosing to stay stuck on "Why?" sets us up where we are taken out of the battle. Despair does that to us. It sidelines us in ways that only those who have been in despair know all too well.
What I'm hoping is that we will begin to recognize those times when we are stuck so that we can break the cycle of despair sooner rather than later. God wants us in the battle. He wants us clothed and prepared for the fight. He has done all the heavy lifting to get us ready. He paid the ultimate price with His son so that we could be anointed with His Spirit so as to make us like His very own Child.
I love how it is the garment of praise that replaces the spirit of despair. It isn't some warrior angel that slays that spirit of despair in my life. It is a simple wardrobe change that makes despair have to be gone. Staying stuck on the "Why?"when bad times hit is like allowing darkness to dress me. Step into the light. Throw off that spirit of despair as you take hold of the garment of praise and go into battle for others in your life.
The victor in you just can't stand to be sidelined when it comes to being a part of building God's Kingdom. Step off the merry-go-round of this life and let God's Spirit lead you to where His power makes praise destroy all the despair that threatens to make you powerless in victim thinking. Remember who you are and live in the power of that identity God paid such a high price for you to make change in your world today.
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