Freedom Writer

by Audrey Frank @AudreyCFrank

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners…Isaiah 61:1

He was one of their own, a local boy known by everyone. Many an evening he had walked the dusty road, covered in wood shavings, after a long day helping his father in the carpenter shop. He was nothing extraordinary.

But here he was on the Sabbath, all grown up, sitting right in the honored center of the synagogue, the same synagogue his mother Mary had led him and his brothers to every Sabbath for years. 

No one spoke as he opened the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. No one dared breathe.

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

Every eye in the room was riveted on him as he continued.

Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.

This sacred moment was the culmination of every freedom writer’s dream, the instant when the message is fulfilled and freedom is unleashed to do its marvelous work of liberation.

Someone has to capture the words, to cast the vision. Someone has to take up a pen and seize the truth, fastening it with ink to paper where it can live and grow.

Writing is just the beginning, but it prepares the way for the Redeemer.

Isaiah was a freedom writer. Chapters 60 and 61 of his book are among the most read, most quoted passages in the Bible. And one can understand why!

His approach in was tantalizing and twofold. In chapter 60, he describes the future blessing of God’s people, encompassing the nations of the earth. In chapter 61, he describes the One who will bring that blessing, the Messiah Jesus.

Freedom writing can really be that simple.

Describe the blessing, describe the One who brings it, and wait for Him.

Today’s world is not so unlike the Israel of Isaiah’s time. We live on a globe groaning against oppression, longing for freedom. Cultural, social, political, spiritual exile may be in our future. Yet there is a Redeemer, and He has secured a future of freedom for the nations. Who will declare His coming? Who will encourage the brokenhearted, the captives? 

I will.

And in the meantime, with my words, I will wait for Him. Join me?

Lord, let me be your freedom writer, declaring the blessing of liberty and the One who brings it. Amen.

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Freedom Writer, insights from author @AudreyCFrank on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Audrey Frank is an author, speaker, and storyteller. The stories she shares are brave and true. They give voice to those whose words are silenced by shame, the hard things in life that don’t make sense, and the losses that leave us wondering if we will survive. Audrey and her family have spent over twenty years living and working among different cultures and world views, and she has found that God’s story of redemption spans every geography and culture. He is the God of Instead, giving honor instead of shame, gladness instead of mourning, hope instead of despair. Although she has three different degrees in communication and intercultural studies, Audrey’s greatest credential is that she is known and loved by the One who made her.

Audrey is the author of Covered Glory: The Face of Honor and Shame in the Muslim World (Harvest House Publishers), an outpouring of Audrey’s heart to introduce others to the God of Instead. Shame is not unique to the developing world, the plight of the women behind veils, young girls trafficked across borders; shame is lurking in hearts everywhere. Through powerful stories from women around the world, Covered Glory illuminates the power of the Gospel to remove shame, giving honor instead. Available at favorite booksellers: BARNES & NOBLE , BOOKS A MILLION, AMAZON.

Featured Image: Photo by Vaishakh pillai on Unsplash