Oaks of Righteousness

From the Book of Isaiah:

The Year of the Lord's Favor

61 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;[a]
    he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
    and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;[b]
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
    and the day of vengeance of our God;
    to comfort all who mourn;
3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
    to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
    the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
    the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.[c]
4 They shall build up the ancient ruins;
    they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
    the devastations of many generations.

5 Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks;
    foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers;
6 but you shall be called the priests of the Lord;
    they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God;
you shall eat the wealth of the nations,
    and in their glory you shall boast.
7 Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion;
    instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot;
therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion;
    they shall have everlasting joy.

8 For I the Lord love justice;
    I hate robbery and wrong;[d]
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
    and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Their offspring shall be known among the nations,
    and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge them,
    that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed.

10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
    my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
    he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
    and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
    and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
    to sprout up before all the nations.

Since my freshman year of college, when I first got involved with the anti-human trafficking movement, I have seen this verse plastered. It would appear that every organization focused on this issue has made Isaiah 61:1-3 their theme verse. I'm not going to say that it's inappropriate. In fact, I think it's a fantastic verse. However, in all my having this passage repeated over and over again, somehow it felt like it had been ran into the ground. Taking simply the 1-3 I proclaimed that it was my calling to set captives free. I was the anointed voice of the Lord. But even then, as time has passed, I took it for granted. When I would hear the verse read, my mind immediately would switch to a blackout. I knew this verse. After all, I had heard it at every event for the past 5 years. Yes, I was familiar, but never before had I seen that the captive was me. 

In the recent I have had this passage directed at me, at me personally. Not just once, but on the multiple. Maybe it's time I start listening. Reflecting. Actually taking time to hear what the Lord is saying. 

So I have, and I've begun to realize I am the one needing set free. It is the promise to me that my broken heart will be bound up. I will be given liberty. I am the one that will have a seal of beauty placed upon me, and will be called an oak of righteousness.

It is only in finding my own freedom that I am able to draw others into freedom. And this verse says that. As I live in the freedom given, the Lord chooses to give even more that will pour out of me to splash onto others. 

However, Isaiah is not a book written in the time of Hope. Instead it is written in the darkest night. While Israel is in captivity. While Israel still walks in the darkness. The Chapters before talk about the sin of Israel and the darkness in which the people live. But at the very end of this Chapter the Lord talks about how he will cause the seeds he has planted to sprout up. Seeds of righteousness and praise. 

This season of post-graduation has been hard. I've been through transition...a lot of transition and most of the time am just left to wonder if this season is crazy, or if I'm going crazy. Feeling stress I don't always respond the way I should. I live my days just trying to hold on and wonder, where is the Lord. However, this verse speaks volumes, saying "the Lord will cause to sprout up what he has planted." As nature is coming into spring and a time of planting, so this is my season. And in Spring the rains pour. They are full of thunderstorms, and what more can be expected of my life. However, without the rain, where would be the flowers? Without my own storms, how can their be growth?

Rain pours down on Earth, 

causing life to sprout up that

proclaims hope and joy.