Have A Need? Pour Yourself Out To Others.

Isaiah 58:8-12 NIRV

8 Then the light of my blessing will shine on you like the rising sun. I will heal you quickly. I will march out ahead of you. And my glory will follow behind you and guard you. That is because I always do what is right.

9 You will call out to me for help. And I will answer you. You will cry out. And I will say, 'Here I am.' "Get rid of the chains you use to hold others down. Stop pointing your finger at others as if they had done something wrong. Stop saying harmful things about them.

10 Work hard to feed hungry people. Satisfy the needs of those who are crushed. Then my blessing will light up your darkness. And the night of your suffering will become as bright as the noonday sun.

11 I will always guide you. I will satisfy your needs in a land that is baked by the sun. I will make you stronger. You will be like a garden that has plenty of water. You will be like a spring whose water never runs dry.

12 Your people will rebuild the cities that were destroyed long ago. And you will build again on the old foundations. You will be called The One Who Repairs Broken Walls. You will be called The One Who Makes City Streets Like New Again.

I have found that if you have a need in your life physically, emotionally or spiritually…pour yourself out to helping others.  Whether you you are tangibly helping them or praying an intercessory prayer for them…when we make a sincere effort to help others, God will bless us abundantly.

I find it interesting that he starts out in verse 9 by saying, “Get rid of the chains you use to hold others down. Stop pointing your finger at others as if they had done something wrong. Stop saying harmful things about them.”  The King James Version says, “If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity.”  A fault-finding spirit can ruin you.  It become a yoke around your neck, restraining you from freely being what God wants you to be and it restrains you from freely worshipping. 

Verse 10 goes on to list the things you can do to help others.  Feed the hungry.  Minister, encourage and satisfy the needs of those who are crushing in spirit.  Psalm 34:18 NIRV, “The LORD is close to those whose hearts have been broken. He saves those whose spirits have been crushed.”  Sometimes, we just need to be there to remind some one that the Lord is there and He can mend the broken hearts and save those whose spirit has been crushed.

When we make the effort to help others, we can guarantee that His blessing will light up our darkness…Our dark times of suffering will be illuminated…He will guide us…He will satisfy our needs when it seems that circumstances seem bleak…He will make us stronger…He will water our hearts and we will grow…Spiritually, we will not run dry…we will be able to rebuild foundations, relationships and walls of security.  He will use us to help others rebuild the walls that the enemy has torn down…and to repair the paths of righteousness that have become ever grown with “weeds”. 

We need to be there for each other to encourage and build one another.  2 Timothy 3:1 KJV says, “In the last days perilous times will come.”  In these last days, we will face things that are hard to bear, spiritually dangerous and troublesome.  NOW, is the time that we need each other more than ever before to encourage and build each other so that we can hold on until the Lord tells Gabriel to blow that trumpet and call us home.  Like the song says, “People get ready. Jesus is coming.  Soon well be going home . People get ready. Jesus is coming.  To take from the world His own .”  We have been hearing it for years, but the signs of the times prove that His coming is closer than we realize.  Hebrews 10:24 NIRV says, “Let us consider how we can stir up one another to love. Let us help one another to do good works.”  We need to observe, focus our mind’s eye and understand that we need to encourage one another to love and to do good works for His glory.  ♥