“The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; He has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners…”
-Isaiah 61:1

According to Matthew Henry’s commentary, Jesus was “appointed and ordained … to be a preacher, a healer, a deliverer, a comforter, and a planter.” Talk about having the weight of the world on your shoulders. Often, we feel undereducated, underprepared, or under-equipped to measure up to Christ. “Why bother?” we might say. “We can’t effect change.”

At my college graduation, a well-known female national news broadcaster offered these words of advice: Crawl before you walk. At 22, I was incensed by her words. I was ready to take on the world! But her words are the bedrock toward effecting change. A cup of water here. A dollar there. A comment to a friend at just the right time. All the little ways we imitate Christ.

Through Christ, we can claim our power and mirror His calling by using our God-given talents to bring good news to the burdened or heal up the brokenhearted or help those captive to addiction or adultery or abuse or any other adversity.

The spirit of the Lord is indeed upon us, too.

Dear Lord: Help us to spread the good news, in small ways as well as large ways. With your help, we can do more than we imagine. Amen.