Thankful for Purpose

I have a little buddy, we'll call him my conversation partner, from Peru that I have been meeting with every so often lately to habla espanol with. I met him at the gym and we talked about how I want to learn Spanish and how he really wants to learn English. Well, the natural solution is to talk to each other, right? He is a 40-something Peruvian with a teenage boy and daughter my age back in Peru. As I learn more about his life, his story, I am continually pulled towards gratitude for the purpose and life Christ has gifted me. Life would be missing so much...so much...substance and depth and, well, purpose without Jesus to direct and guide and offer me joy. So, one more time out of a million, God reminds me of what He has called me to. What an exciting and thrilling life this is.

ISAIAH 61

The Year of the LORD's Favor

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.
Aliens will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.
And you will be called priests of the LORD,
you will be named ministers of our God.

You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast.
Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion,
and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance;
and so they will inherit a double portion in their land,
and everlasting joy will be theirs.

"For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity.
Their descendants will be known among the nations
and their offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed."

I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness
and praise spring up before all nations.