Recently while driving I found myself in the middle of one of those days when everyone else just seemed to be driving crazy. Other drivers were cutting me off, slamming on brakes or swerving into my lane. While I didn't become a crazy driver in retaliation, I did find myself becoming a crazy person inside my vehicle. I was yelling things like "oh great, thanks...Jerk!" and "take your time grampa!!!" At that moment I realized that I wasn't wearing my salvation very favorably. I imagined my freedom like a garment and began to consider what my garment looked like at the moment. Quite frankly, it looked pretty unappealing. I lacked the fruits of self control, patience and love. So I began to ponder, what would my life look like if I wore my freedom favorably? What if in everything I did, I made Salvation look good! What if I carried myself in a way that made Freedom look priceless?When Christ was raised from the dead, He gave us the gift of freedom from our bondage. This is not only our sinful nature but also sickness, unhealthy attitude and struggles against this fallen world. Perhaps you can ask yourself the same questions I asked myself. Do you put on your righteousness in such a way that others desire what you have? Do you wear your freedom in a way that shows you have set down your chains and walked away from them with confidence in the Lord? Or, perhaps, do you wear your salvation as if it is weighty, cumbersome and “lack luster”? Let's look at Isaiah 61:1-3.
“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, 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. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.”
When we accept the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, we are inviting God to anoint us and dwell inside of our hearts. We ask him to give us a new nature, a new outlook on our own lives and a new perception of others. So what does it look like to wear the anointing? Looking at Isaiah 61, it is clear that we best represent God's love and salvation by reaching out to the brokenhearted with compassion and encouragement. We speak truth boldly to those who are in darkness or may not have accepted God's saving grace yet. We declare favor and abundance on God's people, speaking life over every situation and never giving into the temptation to cast doubt on a situation. If a person is struggling we direct them to Christ rather than dwelling with them in the valley of their suffering. We wear our freedom as a beautiful crown rather than ashes. This means that our salvation, anointing and freedom should look priceless, desirable and yet still attainable rather than tarnished, weathered or dirty.
We should look like we've been anointed with oil of joy rather than oil of mourning. This means that any seed of negativity, pessimism, and discouragement is cast out. It is replaced with peace, joy and confidence in the Lord! The freedom God gave us should look like a garment of praise and not a spirit of despair. Why dwell in sadness, waiting reluctantly on the Lord as if it were even possible for Him to not make good on His promises? Put on that garment of praise! Worship God in your struggles, shed light on your dark situations and make the new nature that God gave you look appealing to the eye of those who don't yet know Him. The purpose of your anointing is not only to secure your salvation but also to display God's splendor to all the world - even those who's driving etiquette is driving you crazy.
Originally Posted By Heather Portillo on March 28, 2014