I remember the very first time that God spoke this to me. Freedom for the captives. It was about myself. The very first time I was in Peru and the very first time I was going to give my testimony in front of a big group and the very first time I stood up, heart pounding, searching for the words to do justice to the sum of a life, the way God had changed it all.
I didn’t know what to say and I didn’t know Spanish and I stood in front of a room full of people and stuttered out that my name was Ellyn in Spanish because I had memorized how to say it that morning. I opened my Bible and my feather bookmark had Isaiah 61 marked. I began to read it and the translator told everyone what I was saying. Freedom for the captives. It was my story. The prophet Isaiah talks about the crown of beauty instead of the ashes. I thought about my life how it had been, burned dark, ripping fire that had destroyed everything beautiful inside of my heart. And how Jesus had reached out to me and taken my hand and invited me to step out of that place, out of the ashes. And He had given me beauty, invited me to water the garden in my soul with His sweet love and watch it grow into something beautiful and incredible. Something that was inside of me. These are the love words that I read from the love book, spoken like medicine to my soul by the one who is love.
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim 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 joy
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.
There is a cry of hope that is echoing throughout the Earth and it is this. The crown of beauty has been placed upon our heads by the Great Lover and we are carrying that crown, carrying that beauty, to the nations. We are placing the crown of love, of beauty, of identity upon the heads of God’s beloved. We are setting the captives free. Because God’s spirit is upon us.
I think about that day that I stood scared, not knowing what to say and then God showed me Isaiah 61, an ancient text that was whispered new into my heart, just for me. 4 years later I stand up in front of people all of the time and share that testimony of how love rescued me. 4 years ago I bashfully said “Hola, me llamo Ellyn” in Spanish because that’s all I knew and today I speak fluently in front of people without fear because God can do incredible things with a heart that is open and fully His.
6 years ago I didn’t know love. I didn’t know Jesus. I would have never imaged that I would be living in South America or that I would be able to speak Spanish or that I would be working with girls in sex trafficking. I would have never imagined that I would be married or have a daughter or live with such joy. God bestowed a crown of beauty upon my head and gave me so much beauty where I only had ruin and ashes. Today I live an incredible life filled with so much hope. I know that anything is possible because I am living proof of that. God has done so many miracles in my life.
I hold up this sign over my city, Lima, Peru, declaring God’s promise of Freedom for the Captives. I still hold this entire scripture in Isaiah 61 as a promise over my own life, knowing that 2015 can be miraculous and that God’s desire for us is love and freedom and hope and joy.
This year, I have so many goals and dreams. I dream of writing a devotion book to raise money for missions, of seeing women’s lives transformed and restored, of uniting the body of Christ in Lima to fight sex trafficking, of being an awesome mommy and wife, of knowing God deeper, of travelling and seeing more of this beautiful world that He created. And you know what? It is all possible. Because with Him, anything is possible even beyond our wildest dreams.
What are your goals for this year, your dreams? What are the things that lie deep within your heart that God wants to bring to the surface? In what way does God want you to proclaim Freedom for the Captives?
Let yourself dream this year. Let yourself hope and discover and inspire. Anything is possible with Him, and with Him, life is always an incredible adventure.
Love and peace,
Ellyn
