Wednesday 23 January 2013

Beautiful Exchange

By Lucy Wall


During a trip to the U.S.A to visit some relatives, my husband's Aunt Carol said she was preparing a women's Bible study and would be teaching on Isaiah 61:1-3. The verses read,

“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;

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

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.”

Carol said she loved how the verses talk about the beautiful exchanges the Lord gives us such as "beauty for ashes," "the oil of joy for mourning" and "the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness." She said she would love to have a poem with this theme to accompany her sermon and wondered if I could write one for her. What a challenge!