Awake, awake, Oh Zion, clothe yourself with strength. Put on your garments of splendor, Oh Jerusalem, the holy city. The uncircumcised and defiled will not enter you again. Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned, Oh Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chains on your neck, Oh captive Daughter of Zion”. (Isa. 52:1–2)
This scripture applies to Israel, but in essence it refers to us. Imagine with me, if you will, a woman, seated in a darkened prison cell with a chain around her neck that is chained to the wall of her prison cell. Her hands and feet are in stocks, and she has very limited range of movement. So, day after day, she paces around her cell, lamenting the loss of her freedom, but feeling hopeless to do anything about it. She is frail, tired, sorrowful about her lost youth, yet she prays for change which seems to be so out of reach.
One day she receives a visitor who announces freedom to her. The announcement demands some kind of action from her, as he says, “Awake, awake, O Zion, clothe yourself with strength. Put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, the holy city. The uncircumcised and defiled will not enter you again. Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned, O Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chains on your neck, O captive Daughter of Zion”, and then leaves. As much as she wants to be free, she looks around her at the walls and the chains, and resigns herself to her present circumstances. She believes she is not able to bring about the change she so longs for, and so there she sits, waiting. Waiting for tomorrow, because maybe things will change tomorrow. Waiting for help to break free. Waiting. Waiting.
As I imagine the above, I am reminded of the Ellen Pakkies story that shocked the nation a few years ago. For those who are not familiar with her story, Ellen Pakkies is a woman who murdered her drug addict son out of sheer desperation. Her son was addicted to various drugs, and as a result he tormented his family by his abuse and stealing their household goods to buy his next fix. Fast-forward: So after many years of abuse and torment, and of failing to find support and assistance from every possible avenue, she took things into her own hands and murdered her son. She was charged with murder, and when asked why she had done this evil, she replied, “I just wanted one day of peace”. When judgement was given, no one could deny that society, social welfare and the justice department had failed her.
So back to Isaiah 52:1-2, can you identity with Ellen? I know I can. My dilemma may not have been the same as hers, but there was a time in my life that I just wanted one day of peace. I know what that feels like. I know what it feels like to be in a place of such desperation that you are willing to do anything to break free. I know what it feels like to seek help and assistance and not find any, and so I took things into my own hands and messed things up even more. How about you? What do you need help and assistance with? It does not have to be a son or daughter on drugs? It does not have to be an abusive situation. Or maybe it is that abusive relationship. Maybe you feel overlooked or rejected or afraid. Whatever it is, you can be free. It’s time to be free.
The scripture refers to her as a daughter. If you are a daughter, you are an heir. The scripture also refers to her as a “daughter of Zion”. That means she is a daughter of God. So are you. Did you know that you are a daughter of God, and that you are an heir of His Kingdom? The messenger who came to her was sent by God, to remind her of who and whose she is. This article serves as a reminder to you of the same. It is so easy to forget who we are, especially when life happens to us. So let me resound that reminder again. Follow the 7 steps given in the scripture. What steps? We will continue this discussion in our next article.
For now, just remember that the messenger from God would not have given her the instruction to free herself, if it was not in her power to do so. The same thing applies to you. The power to be free is within your hands. You have what it takes to be free today. Sometimes the only thing preventing that is us believing that we cannot be free. Freedom is your right, and the price for your freedom has already been paid by what Jesus accomplished on Calvary. The Bible tells is, “Who the Son has set free, it free indeed”. And the truth is, you have already been set free. All you need to do is believe it and walk in it. Your freedom begins today!
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