Changing My Story

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Isaiah 61:1–2 (NKJV)

1 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn,

Everyone has a story. So what is yours?

“What do you mean?” you may ask.

What I mean is, if you had 10 minutes to describe your life, until now, what would you say?

Does it make you want to jump to your feet and tell the world?

Or, does it make you cringe and hope no one ever finds out?

Or, does it send waves of sadness, anxiety, pain, or loss back over your heart as you dread to ever re-live it by telling it?

Or, does it make anger well up inside, to remember how misused, abused, or mistreated you have been by others?

The list of possible responses goes on and on. The peculiar thing is that most responses are human and a result of human life, loss and suffering. (Often, with the suffering resulting from things outside our control).

We also call a story a narrative. It involves a narrator who gives the narration.

May I present Jesus Christ, who specializes in re-writing narratives; righting wrongs, settling debts, acquitting the guilty, avenging the protagonist, and revenging the antagonist?

Romans 12:19 (NKJV)

19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.

I dare say that, today, Jesus is ready to give you a testimony in exchange for your devastating drama.

What’s the catch? Only that we stop writing and give Him the pen.

Don’t worry, He doesn’t wish to make you robotic! He’ll let you keep living and deciding and talking, on your own accord, but His Spirit comes alongside with wisdom, peace, and maturity to transform everything that is surrendered to him. (If it’s not surrendered, then He has no option but to allow you and me to continue with brokenness and short-sightedness.

May I show you one of the most powerful re-writing promises known to man? How about the oldest? The most dependable? The most reliable and REAL?

The Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsaa) is one of the original seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in Qumran in 1947. It is the largest (734 cm) and best preserved of all the biblical scrolls, and the only one that is almost complete. The 54 columns contain all 66 chapters of the Hebrew version of the biblical Book of Isaiah. Dating from ca. 125 BCE, it is also one of the oldest of the Dead Sea Scrolls, some one thousand years older than the oldest manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible known to us before the scrolls' discovery.

Isaiah 61:3 (NKJV)

3 To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

Wow! What a promise! Jesus is the ultimate Story Changer! He’s offering to re-write yours today!

Isaiah 61:3 (NLT)

3 To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory.

Isaiah 61:3 (MSG)

3 To care for the needs of all who mourn in Zion, give them bouquets of roses instead of ashes, Messages of joy instead of news of doom, a praising heart instead of a languid spirit. Rename them “Oaks of Righteousness” planted by God to display his glory.

How might one be a participant in this re-writing promise?

Put your mourning to work for you...

Mourning. What causes it is more easily described than the experience… Put in a capsule, and for illustration, condensed to a single, easily considered event: Mourning is what happens when you receive the news of the death of a loved one:

At the news of a death in the ancient world it was customary to tear one’s garments (Gn 37:34; 2 Sm 1:11; Jb 1:20), put on sackcloth (2 Sm 3:31), and take off one’s shoes (15:30; Mi 1:8) and headdress; a man might cover his beard or veil his face (Ez 24:17, 23). Mourners put dirt or ashes on their heads (Jos 7:6; 1 Sm 4:12; Neh 9:1; Jb 2:12; Ez 27:30) or rolled themselves in the dust (Jb 16:15; Mi 1:10) or sat on a heap of ashes.

These were external displays, reacting to external trauma or tragedy, having minimal impact on restoring peace internally!

Living in the time since the cross of Jesus, we have a new place to do those things (above)! However, it’s a place of effective restoration and peace!

To rewrite your story today, mourn the right things, the right way, God’s way!

James 4:8–10 (NKJV)

8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.

10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

Why mourn?

Particularly, that sin has had the power to captivate you heart, steal health, or waste years. Sin is the greatest of all deaths: It is that which separates from life. It separates from loved ones. But, most importantly and sadly, it separates from God!

Can you identify sin, rebellion, pride or the like? It’s time to mourn! But, don’t be discouraged… you’ll mourn with a future!

Acts 2:37–39 (NKJV)

37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”

38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

Psalm 30:11–12 (NKJV)

11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,

12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

Messiah is sent to give to every godly mourners

(1) beauty for ashes; or “a crown for ashes,” i.e. a crown of glory in lieu of the ashes of repentance which it was customary to sprinkle upon the head;

(2) the oil of joy for mourning; or the anointing of the Spirit in lieu of that plenteousness of tears which naturally belonged to mourners; and

(3) the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, or a glad heart inclined to praise God, in lieu of a heavy one inclined to despair.