And if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. Isaiah 58:10
Darkness cannot overtake light. Only light can overtake darkness. Think about it. When you walk into a dark room, you turn on a light and the light rids the room of darkness. The only way for the darkness to return is to remove the light-it cannot automatically return. We are living in a dark world. Poverty. Injustice. Death. Trafficking. The numbers are overwhelming. The statistics numbing. The stories heartbreaking. And in the midst of that darkness, we are called to be the light. Did you hear that?? We are called. WE. US. You and Me.
God is continually breaking my heart for the things that break His heart. The things that used to be so important are fading in the light of what God views as important. And last night, as I sat in a concert focused on fighting for the freedom of the captives, I realized once again how broken my heart truly is. And how quickly life gets busy and we get caught up in this or that and forget the passions inside. I have been so wrapped up in transitioning home and now moving again, I pushed aside the things that I am so passionate about. Partly because I didn’t know what I could do. I know God has a specific purpose for giving me the heart that He has given me. It is not a burden many can bear. It is not a heaviness that many share. And yet, I cannot imagine being wrapped up in anything less then the heart of God and His passion for the world. It is a broken place. It is dark. And in that, I am called to be the light. For now, that calling is not exactly playing out how I thought it would. I want to be on the front lines, fighting the oppressor and loving the opppressed. But right now, God has me in the background. And it is here that I am growing. That I am learning how to love. I am learning how to be loved. I am learning that freedom is given to me and that I need it just as desperately as the truly captive. And I am being ever reminded that God uses normal, everyday people to accomplish His plan. I do not have to be anything but willing. And willing am I ever. Isaiah 58 is my chapter. It is the chapter in the Bible that I have clung to the past two years of my life. Everytime I am discouraged or frustrated, I remind myself that this is my calling. To spend myself on behalf of the hungry. To satisfy the needs of the oppressed. To break the chains. To tear down walls. To love. And I don’t have to travel to Africa or Asia to do that. I can do that today, right now, with the people I normally see. I will never be the same. I have seen and I have been changed. But because of that, I feel God is calling me. And I don’t know how He will use it, but I am praying daily that He will use me. That I be counted worthy to carry His cross and message to a dying and broken world.
I truly believe that everyone should be free to live. Free to walk in the light. Free to eat and free to run and free to dance. I cannot and will not ever be content in a world where so many are robbed of life. In that, I have found that sometimes the only way I can contribute is to pray and give. While my heart is longing to go, I feel God calling me to patience. However in that waiting, I am not sitting still. And whether you are called to go or not, do something. Anything. Donate your money or your time. Shop more consciously. Love louder. Live bolder. Be the light that so many are seeking. Pray for your kingdom assignment. Pray for those in slavery. Pray for your heart. Pray for the church. Give hugs. Hang out with the homeless.
Lord, may we open our eyes to the things that break your heart. Give us boldness in our walk. May we spend our lives on behalf of the hungry. May we satisfy the needs of the oppressed. It is for freedom we were set free. Help us to live and walk in that freedom. Help us to extend grace and forgiveness to those around us. Help us to be freedom to those who need it. Help us to the light to a broken world. A world that desperately needs light. May darkness never have the final say. May children be able to laugh, run, and be kids. May we be aware. Change us. Change our hearts. May we be spent on behalf of the hungry, oppressed, trafficked, and poverty-stricken.
