Restoration and Reconciliation
By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe
Since the beginning of the year, I sense the Lord calling His people to a time of restoration and reconciliation. This is a call to that requires action on our part. The Lord is not going to drop this in our laps. This is a time for us to collectively, willfully and thoughtfully embrace Isaiah 58. This is a fast that results in powerful and authoritative servanthood and victory in our lives. This type of fast is not temporary. It is a lifestyle of fasting from the wickedness and attitudes of the world.
"Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' "If you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday. The LORD will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In. "If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, From doing your pleasure on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the LORD honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking your own words, Then you shall delight yourself in the LORD; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the LORD has spoken." (Isaiah 58:6-14 NKJV)
When we enter into this fast, we will be able to reestablish the foundations of our personal lives, of our families, our churches, our communities and our nation. God has called His people to be repairers and restorers. We can fulfill that call only as we delight ourselves in the Lord.
