Reminder: It Is Not Us Who Frees the Captive
You are a missionary living in a foreign land facing constant rejection, and you feel the oppression. You are a volunteer working with families who struggle with poverty, and you sense the hopelessness. You are a foster parent caring for children who struggle to attach, and you bear the pain.
When we enter the lives of other people, we often encounter brokenness. Still when we pour our selves into them, we want, no, we need to see occasional positive results, breakthrough, and victories. Even if it is just a small glimmer of hope, it is usually enough to keep us going.
When we don’t see those positive results, we become disillusioned, confused, offended, hurt, and possibly ready to give up.
I am thinking about a missionary friend who lives and works in a part of the world that is hostile to the Good News. She worked for years with very little to show for it—at least to the human eye. I know she had days when she felt rejected and wondering if she should continue. But she stayed with it. Now she witnesses many coming to faith.
What kept her going during the hard years?
The Anointed One
After Jesus spent time in the wilderness tempted by Satan, he went to his hometown of Nazareth. He made His way to the local synagogue and took a seat. Recognizing Him as a rabbi, they gave him a scroll to read. They handed Jesus the book of Isaiah. He opened it to Isaiah 61 and read,
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”
After Jesus read this passage, He handed the scroll back to the attendant and sat down. Then He said, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Those in attendance didn’t care to hear what Jesus did said, because they thought they knew this homegrown son of a carpenter. But as we know Jesus was much more than a carpenter’s son. He really was the fulfillment of the Isaiah prophecy.
Are we prideful?
Those who listened to Jesus read Isaiah 61 responded first with a stunned silence. Then they tried to throw Him off a cliff on the outside of town.
How do you and I respond? Not so nearly as violently. Rather we respond with something that looks more like pride or possibly ignorance. Instead of inviting Jesus into the lives we serve, we make feeble attempts to meet their needs in our own power.
Jesus is the anointed One who brings good news, binds up the brokenhearted, proclaims liberty to captives, and freedom to prisoners.
As a person who lives a life sent, the most powerful action we can take on behalf of those we serve is to stand before Jesus and urge Him to move as the Anointed One in their lives.
If you feel overwhelmed, lost in your way, rejected and offended, and definitely if you are about to give up, take some time right now and pray this passage over that person or persons that God has placed in your life.
“Oh Jesus, the Anointed One, we beseech You as You are always faithful and true to who You are. You sent us into a land where none or very few know your Name. You sent us to walk alongside hurting and vulnerable people. You sent us to welcome the fatherless into our families. We need You to bring them good news, to bind them up in hope, and to free them from what imprisons them. In Your Name, sweet Jesus, Amen.”
