2 Corinthians 3:17 Isaiah prophesies because the Lord has anointed him, qualified him to preach good things to the meek, the poor and afflicted. He spoke of Liberty, both physical and spiritual to the ‘captives’. Israel was suffering under God‘s judgment for their sins. God’s promise through Isaiah revealed a Hope of restoration, healing, and finding favor with God. What would it have been like without the Holy Spirit dwelling in men? To live each day trying as hard as we can, weak, unable to break the chains, to overpower temptation and sin? Would we have given in to Hopelessness, to Discouragement or Futility? Perhaps we can relate…that was us before we said ‘I do’ to Jesus. Powerless, stuck, imprisoned by the flesh and its cravings. Paul writes to the church in Corinth, he’s got Good News! It’s the ‘other side of the cross’, it’s the future Isaiah spoke of, part of it. Believers are blessed, set free, emancipated, experiencing an incorruptible liberty. Maybe it was the first time Paul’s message sunk in about the power of the spirit and the freedom it holds. Maybe we’re still a little unsure what that actually means because, frankly, we still feel the bondage, limited to a degree by the flesh. Are we unable to grasp the strength and the courage and the boldness the Holy Spirit speaks into our spirit, empowering our flesh? He takes our weakness and replaces it with great strength, His Strength… Do we have to be exhausted before we allow Him to help? At this point, we’re ‘captives’ because we choose it. If we have the Holy Spirit in us, the doors to our cell have been unlocked…we just have to choose to ‘walk out’. The Spirit of the Lord is with us wherever we go, no matter where we are. No matter what our flesh feels, our ears hear or our eyes see, the Spirit of the Lord is with us, empowering us in strength, reminding us of His Truth, His Hope, His promises. We’re only captives if we’re comfortable in our ‘box’, and reject what the Holy Spirit can do in and throug
