“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...And the opening of the prison to those who are bound...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.” Isaiah 61:1-3
I recall one particular day when I was in the kitchen area of a fast-food restaurant. I noticed a woman at the deep-fat fryer cooking French fries. This woman stood out to me because of her age. She appeared to be in her mid-sixties, which is older than most entry-level fast-food employees. Every time I walked behind her in the kitchen, I felt a strong surge of the Lord in my heart. It was a feeling of enthusiasm. The Lord was highlighting her to me so I would pay attention. So, I asked the Lord what was happening, and He prompted me to pray for her. I asked the store manager for permission to talk to the employee for a few minutes. The manager said yes, and she called the woman from the fryer to an area just outside of her office.
As I began to speak to the French fry lady, I felt a surge of courage and authority arise in my heart. I could feel how valuable she was to the Lord. Her life had great significance, and her decades-long, diligent habit of praying for friends and family availed much.
The Lord showed me how many people’s lives had been changed and blessed because of her prayers. I saw the great value, significance, and success of her life from His perspective.
As I began to speak this prophetic word to her, the Lord’s tangible presence filled the space around us. She began to cry tears of joy and relief, and I saw her expression change. Her facial expression changed from anxious to relieved and joyful. Then, she spoke to me in Spanish and the manager translated for me.
She had been working at this restaurant for years and then had decided to retire in her early sixties. For several years, she had been trying to live with a very limited retirement income and had recently concluded it was not enough for her. So, she decided her only option was to return to work, and this was only her first week back working at the fast-food restaurant. She had plenty of experience, but the manager assigned her to work at the French fry station – a task for an entry level employee. As she was working, she felt an overwhelming sense of shame.
She felt sad and ashamed of not having enough money. She felt sad and ashamed of having to return to work. She felt ashamed of working at the French fry station as a woman in her mid-sixties. As she was experiencing this grief and shame, she began to conclude she had little value and the fruit of her whole life was insignificant. She kept quietly working as she endured the torment of her shame.
This is the point I entered the restaurant! She told me when I first walked behind her as she stood at the fryer, she felt a surge of the Holy Spirit, and she didn’t know why. I felt the same thing. The Lord was highlighting us to each other to prompt us to interact. The Holy Spirit was leaping inside both of us to prepare us for a divine encounter.
This was all happening because the Lord was deeply moved by a woman who was being tormented and paralyzed by shame, and He wanted to break the shame off her. This is why I felt both compassion for the woman and a surge of courage from the Lord. This is why the Lord showed me how valuable she was and the success of her life of prayer. I had the priceless privilege to function in the moment as an ambassador of heaven; my assignment was to encourage this woman and remove her shame.
This encounter reminds me of a portion of the passage in Isaiah 61:1-3:
“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...And the opening of the prison to those who are bound...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.”
After this encounter, the woman, the manager, and myself were all crying. The Holy Spirit’s presence was still strongly tangible. We all were experiencing the joy of encountering the Lord. In fact, the joy of God’s presence left us partially immobilized, and so we were glad the employees in the front of the kitchen were still able to work. The Lord deployed me to displace her grief with His joy. Seeing the Lord work as an epic comforter, deliverer, encourager, and shame-breaker is one of my greatest privileges. I left the restaurant full of joy!
God used me not only to focus His delight on those around me but to let them know Jesus pursues them with His love. He used me to break off shame from this precious woman.
Today God wants you to know that He delights in you, and He has broken off shame and has empowered you to displace grief with joy and to focus His delight on those around you. Now you can boldly declare to others that they no longer have to live with shame but can walk in freedom and the delight of God!
Photo by priscilla-du-preez-nF8xhLMmg0c-unsplash. -unsplash.com
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