The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound . . . that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified. They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations (Isa. 61:1-4)

When Jesus came to earth, He came with a mission. Actually, He came with two missions. He came to set His people free and to set His people free to be used of Him. The type of people He chose only gives greater emphasis to those missions. He told the people, “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32, emphasis added). He wasn’t looking for the ‘righteous.’ He was looking for people who needed Him, who were willing to abandon themselves to Him. 

Paul reminded the Corinthian believers of the same thing, “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are” (1 Cor. 1:27-28). He got even more specific than that: “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you” (1 Cor. 6:9-11a, emphasis added). Those were the people God, in His infinite wisdom chose to call. And then Paul continues: “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (v. 11b). 

When Jesus proclaimed the start of His earthly ministry, He told us exactly what type of people He was looking for: These are the kind of people Jesus calls:

* The poor. The good news to the poor (both in resources and in spirit) is that there is One who looks down on them with love, compassion and forgiveness, and has an inheritance waiting for them.

* The brokenhearted. “Bind up” is another phrase for mending or healing. In this fallen world, most or all of us fall into this category at one time or another. We suffer disappointment, rejection, hurt, and loss. He knows our pain, and has come to mend our hearts.

* The captives and the bound. Jesus has come to set the captive free of whatever holds him in bondage–whether it be fear, hatred, or addictions. There is healing, forgiveness and restoration in Him.

All of us fall into some of those categories, if not all of them. No matter what we have done, He calls us to Him. Not only to cleanse and restore us, but to use us. He says that He will plant them as oaks of righteousness unto the Lord. An oak is a strong tree that does more than just stand tall; it produces acorns that grow new trees–it multiples. Its branches stretch out to proved shade and places for birds to nest.

Not only will those people who were once broken and bound be oaks of righteousness, but they will rebuild the ruins. For many of us, we spend many years sitting in the midst of ruins. Ruined lives because of sin, hurt, rejection, the fallen world we live in. We wonder if the world can ever be put back together. We can read these words and take courage: “They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations.” With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, what was broken can be rebuilt and restored. What was dead can become alive again.

There is one more thing He says about these once-broken people: “They shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.” The people who are the most damaged, the ones who the world will reject and look down upon, those people are the ones who will repair the damage done by previous generations. They will spread the Gospel until all the nations hear His Word, and then the end will come.

If you think God can’t use you because of your past or your brokenness, it’s BECAUSE of your past or brokenness that He will use you.