“To give to those who mourn in Zion Joy and gladness instead of grief, A song of praise instead of sorrow. They will be like trees That the Lord himself has planted. They will all do what is right, And God will be praised for what he has done.” Isaiah 61:3 GNT
Spirit of Heaviness
What a wonderful promise this is that our Father has given to us in our declaration verse today. But how do we experience the truth of this promise in our lives and actually live in the truth of it? I don’t think it happens automatically!
If we’re honest, we all experience times when our spirits are ‘heavy’ due to those things going on in our lives that are difficult to cope with. This is especially true if we have experienced the loss of a loved one and facing grief through no longer having them here on earth with us any longer.
Garment of Praise
But, it’s the very time when we need to deepen our relationship with the Lord and ask Him to clothe us in the ‘Garment of Praise’ which He has promised to give to us. Remember we have a choice – we can go on living in all that our feelings are telling us, or – we can choose to rise up and praise the Lord. The wonderful thing is that, as we begin to praise – even if we don’t initially feel we want to – the Holy Spirit steps in and helps us, and lifts us up.
Our circumstances may not have changed – but we have changed and are looking at things differently through the help of the Holy Spirit. How wonderful is that!
Let’s Declare together: “The Spirit of heaviness is replaced by the garment of praise in my life today”
Be blessed. 🙏 ❣️