The time has come to shake it off… cue Taylor Swift 😂

It’s time to shake off the dust.

“Awake, awake, O Zion, clothe yourself with strength. Put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, the holy city. The uncircumcised and defiled will not enter you again. Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned, O Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chains on your neck, O captive Daughter Zion.” – Isaiah‬ ‭52‬:‭1‬-‭2‬

“Wake up, wake up! Pull on your boots, Zion! Dress up in your Sunday best, Jerusalem, holy city! Those who want no part of God have been culled out. They won’t be coming along. Brush off the dust and get to your feet, captive Jerusalem! Throw off your chains, captive daughter of Zion!” – Isaiah‬ ‭52‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭MSG‬‬

These two verses have brought me courage recently.

It’s time to awake, to clothe ourselves with God’s strength and reflect His glory.

It’s time shake off the dust, to rise up and walk like royalty.

It’s time to free ourselves from the chains we were never meant to carry, the ones put on by the deceiver, the father of lies.

We are no longer captives. We are the redeemed.

There comes a point where you realize you are free. The chains aren’t holding you (even if it still feels like they are). The lies aren’t trapping you. You’re not stuck anymore. The heaviness isn’t as heavy. Yes, there’s sadness and pain. Yes, there’s sorrow and heartbreak. But you’re awake and alive and aware. You’re healing. It’s a process. And you’re moving forward, through it.

You find that the ash heap has diminished a bit, and you’re able to move about more freely.

Freedom is coming; I can feel it in the air. And also: freedom is here.

“Who is like the Lord our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; He seats them with princes, with the princes of His people. He settles the childless woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the Lord.” – Psalm‬ ‭113‬:‭5‬-‭9‬

God is so gracious: He reaches down from on High; His arm is not too short to save. He pauses to see us, to hear and to know. He cares about us so much. He raises us from the dust, lifting us out of our agony. He binds the broken-hearted, and provides us a seat at His table. He gives us a place to call home. He frees us.

💗

Today at church, we took a moment and listened. We asked God what He wanted to say to us. We had just heard a timely message about being friends of God: a process of building upon servanthood, to sonship, to friends.

I felt like God was inviting me to let go of the the past, specifically the betrayal of past friends. The ones I trusted who let me down, hurt me, lied about me, and sent me into exile. God was asking me to loosen the grip on these experiences, so that I could more fully embrace Him and His friendship. He will never betray us or fail us. He is the best kind of friend, and He is always faithful.

God also brought to mind a word that a mentor had spoken over me during Bible college. It meant so much to me then that I wrote it in the back of my Bible. It turns out it was almost exactly 14 years ago to the day…

God is hollering down in love, not in anger (He wants me to hear) – “It’s not the same, it’s different.” Expect change, get excited; He won’t let me down. One year from now will look different from now/past years.

October 16, 2009

It’s not the same. It’s going to be different.

Wake up. Rise up. Shake off the dust. Be free.