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Warriors Arise: December 17, 2021

Isaiah 61:1-3 (NKJV)

“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,

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.”

Is there anybody feeling heaviness right now? Another reason we celebrate the birthday of Christ is because His coming, living, dying and rising gives us the opportunity receive the garment of praise. What does it look like to have a lifestyle of praise? Since it is generally easier to identify what something isn't, let's take a look from that angle. A garment of praise is not a one time moment of happiness and joy. What does it look like to give praise to someone. There are times we can get so wrapped up in thinking our praise will puff someone up to be arrogant and prideful, but we are just as at fault when we will not give the recognition due. We when hold back giving recognition to someone who has done a job well, with excellence or has gone above and beyond expectation, then there should be praise given. This doesn't mean they did the action to get the praise. It is acknowledging they did something excellent.

The spirit of heaviness can be so difficult to get out from under. Generally we are navel gazing. We see all the wrong we have done, all the bad decisions and choices; therefore, we don't want anyone notice us, even if we have done something exceptional. If we aren't seeing all the mistakes we have made, we tend to see the errors of others. It can cause us to give up believing there is any good in the world. We may outwardly worship Jesus, but because our hearts and minds are consumed with the wrong we have done and the sins of others, we can't shake off the spirit of heaviness and receive the garment of praise.

This is huge. We have to truly understand what Jesus has given us. When He came, He offers to remove the spirit of heaviness, the hopelessness that gets us stuck in a rut, spinning our wheels, and making things worse rather than better. Let's look at the life of someone Jesus met who was wearing the spirit of heaviness and was offered the garment of praise. We find it in John chapter 4. Jesus was weary from His travels, so He remained outside the city and sat at the well. In the middle of the heat a woman comes to get water. It was unusual for anyone to come to the well this time of day because of the heat. They would have come in the morning, but Jesus asked this woman to give Him a drink. Then proceeded to tell her of the Living Water He offers. She isn't able to understand until He tells her to go get her husband and her spirit of heaviness is exposed and her sin. She has had five husbands and the one she was with was not her husband. Jesus told her of the Living Water and offered her the garment of praise for her spirit of heaviness. She runs into the city and tells everyone of the one who accepted her, restored her and gave her a new opportunity at life.

Have you met Jesus face to face with what is weighing you down? She tried to avoid Jesus' probing by asking Him spiritual questions. Have you done that before? Jesus is speaking to you but you know whatever you say will condemn you so you ask Him a spiritual question, diverting His love to go deeper and bring you freedom. Jesus came to remove the spirit of heaviness and offer you the garment of praise. After He exposed her sin and she received her freedom, she was free from the heaviness of sin. She went through the streets telling everyone about Jesus. That is one who wears the garment of praise. She left her sins behind and embraced her new beginning. Could that happen in a moment for you? Would you be able to hear Jesus expose your sin so He could offer you the garment of praise?

Would you take the offer? Would you allow yourself to wear the garment of praise through the streets? We are so afraid of what people will think of us if they knew of our sin. The one advantage this woman has over most of us, everyone already knew her sin. What did it matter if this man knew them and spoke to her about them? Why was that so significant? Maybe she was living in deception. Maybe she had allowed her mind to believe that no one really knew of her sin. However, her actions proved otherwise. She did not go to the well when the other women went. Jesus met her, right in the midst of her hiding. He exposed her sin and offered her the garment of praise.

Why did she praise Jesus? Because Jesus exposed her sin and gave her value. He spoke to her, a woman. He spoke to a Samaritan. He crossed the barrier of sin and offered her a way out. She no longer hid from society. She ran to them and told them of the man who told her of her sins. That seems a little crazy. We spend so much time hiding our sin that we don't realize we have taken on the spirit of heaviness. We need a meeting with Jesus as the well. We need the Living Water He offers. We need to be ready to give up the spirit of heaviness and receive the garment of praise.

Father, I need this meeting. I have no idea how great my sin is but Know I have been feelings a heaviness. I would like to meet with You. I would like for You to expose it. Maybe it is just worrying over little things or big things or things I have blown completely out of proportion. It doesn't really matter. I do not want to carry this spirit of heaviness anymore. You came to earth and I celebrate your coming and your birthday. I desire to give up this spirit of heaviness and receive Your offer of the garment of praise. I want to be free to praise You like this woman, testifying of what You have done in my life. I want to praise You like King David. His own wife scolded him for praising You in the streets. He was overjoyed to have the ark in Jerusalem. I want to praise You without hinderances of what others will think. I want to praise You because You are worthy every word and action. I ask for meet with You to get rid of the spirit of heaviness and receive my garment of praise in Jesus' name amen.

A Warrior in the Lord’s Army,

Veridee Joy Hand

Join together as Believers in Jesus Christ to pray and to push back the enemy as we release God’s power here on earth. If you have any questions please feel free to make a comment or private message me. If you would like this to come to your email directly please go to verideehand.com and subscribe.