Why Is God Showing You This Lesson Now?
Isaiah 61:1-11
God wants us to align our priorities with His purposes. Have you evaluated your life priorities lately as a Christian? Whether praying or choosing, Jesus said we are to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” What does “first” mean? First! The top priority! The most important thing! Is God asking you at this moment to pray that the Holy Spirit will supernaturally convict, enable and empower you to establish His desires in your life?
It is clear from verse 11 that God has “all the nations” on His heart. Perhaps the one nation that has received the most news coverage in 2010 has been Haiti. How should we pray for this particular country that is surely on God’s heart? I can tell you from having just been to Haiti that their biggest problem is not their corrupt government, their economic and social needs resulting from earthquakes and hurricanes, nor their struggle with disease.
Haiti’s biggest problem is a spiritual problem due to the prevalence and influence of voodoo. God’s heart and our prayers for Haiti should be one and the same: for the physical needs of the Haitians, and that spiritually they will be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.
How does this lesson connect to what God is doing in and around you?
Just last month, many of us went to the polls to vote. We considered the condition of the community and the state in which we live, and we selected people we believed would be good leaders. Hopefully we voted with the spiritual understanding that neither Democrats nor Republicans will ever provide the true hope and change so desperately needed.
Jesus read from Isaiah 61:1-2 in the synagogue at Nazareth (Luke 4:16-21) and declared He was the fulfillment of this scripture. As we look at this world and the shape it is in, God is reminding us in this passage that Christ Jesus is the One to Whom we should look if we hope for things to get better.
What our government leaders need (and should expect to receive) from the Church of Jesus Christ is prayer (1 Timothy 2:1-5), not ridicule. At your next church prayer meeting, listen for the Holy Spirit to prompt you to be the one who requests prayer for specific government leaders!
Rick Astle– Lessons by Rick Astle, director of missions for Waccamaw Baptist Association. Astle is a graduate of the University of Kentucky and Southern Seminary. He is the author of two books and lives in Conway.