The Spirit of Heaviness....
Eternity Online: John Edmiston (Editor)
The Spirit of Heaviness (and how to beat it!)
(Isa 61:1-3 KJV) The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the
LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath
sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the
captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; {2} To
proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of
our God; to comfort all that mourn; {3} To appoint unto them that
mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for
mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they
might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that
he might be glorified.
Jesus stood up in the synagogue in Nazareth and read from this
passage declaring "today this is fulfilled in your hearing....".
There is an obvious connection between verse 1 where people are
poor, broken-hearted, bound captives and the mourners with the spirit
of heaviness in verse 3. The conditions of the oppressed life lead to
a condition of hopelessness and despair and gloom that is so well
summed up in the phrase "a spirit of heaviness". Jesus transforms
this lowly and hopeless condition into one of beauty, joy and praise
(see verse 3 above). How does He do so? He does so NOW, through the
beautifying and sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit and the conscious
deliberate agreement of the believer.
Firstly he does so NOW! Jesus said "today this is fulfilled in your
hearing". This is not some far off prophecy it is for Today. It is
not for some far off people - it is fulfilled in your hearing. For
those who hear this message and believe then they can know the truth
and the power of this prophecy. You can deal with heaviness and
despair today with the power of Jesus Christ within you! Lets see how
this is done.
Firstly you need to know and believe that your moods are not
entirely dictated by your circumstances but can be greatly altered by
the exerted power of the life that is within you. I will give you a
simple example. You are having a blazing row with someone and the
phone rings. In a second or two you have brought yourself under
control, are polite and deal with the matter on the phone as if you
were all sweetness and light. At that time you exerted the power
within you to bring yourself under control and to alter your mood
from anger to civility. Despite your aggravating circumstances you
were nice. "The exerted power of the life within you" is the key. For
the believer they have the resources of Christ in them the hope of
glory! Call on Him to deal with your depression!
So we see that a)we need to have power over the spirit of
heaviness, and b) then we must use it. It must be exerted. Some
strong people never use their strength to control themselves and
they are shipwrecked. Personal power must be consciously put to
positive use.
If the spirit of heaviness is to be pushed aside it must be broken by
a desperate act of the sanctified will. God gives us the power to
break off heaviness and to replace it with praise. Lets look at the
three Holy Spirit resources He gives us -.beauty, the oil of joy, and
the garment of praise."(Isa 61:3 KJV) To appoint unto them that
mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for
mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that
they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the
LORD, that he might be glorified.".
Beauty is the beauty of holiness, the loveliness we have as "holy
ones" and sons of God. We are adorned and lovely to God and the
knowledge of this beauty in His eyes lifts our spirits. We are not
the ugly useless wretches we think we are. God has given us beauty!
Next He has given us the oil of joy. This is the joy that comes from
the Holy Spirit it is a holy joy that loves the good and hates evil.
(Hebrews 1:9). It is the joy of a life lived in the will of God and
it is a joy that will not pass away. Lastly we have the "garment of
praise" that replaces the spirit of heaviness. This is the life
clothed in the praises of God at all times. Instead of living in
dejection we are living in adoration and thanksgiving.
These three things are free gifts in Christ through the power of the
Holy Spirit. (see verses 1-3 above). They are ours by right in
Christ therefore we must claim them and use them. Too often we
believe the Devil's lies that we need to remain down and dejected
because our life is so bad. Instead we must realise that moods have
a spiritual basis and can be spiritually conquered. Tell the
dejected moods to go in Jesus name and claim your beauty, joy and
praise!
When next you are challenged by a "spirit of heaviness" remember
that you have beauty in God's eyes, ask God for His oil of joy
anointing in the Holy Spirit (and repent of anything that may block
it) and call on Jesus to clothe you with the garment of praise and
then praise Him for anything at all and start "putting on the
garment" by continuing in praise - however faltering. As you do the
spirit of heaviness will start to flee and you will be transformed.!
Your power over your moods will be obvious to all and will bring
glory to God. The supernatural life in you will show through just
as surely as natural life does in a tree though trees are mute. "...
that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of
the LORD, that he might be glorified.".
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John Edmiston ([email protected])
Editor - Eternity Online Magazine http://www.eternity-magazine.org/
Cults, exegesis, bible teaching, Christian life and leadership.
For the thinking Christian!