This morning, I had a tiny moment to gloss over my bible.

Isaiah 61 reads:

The Spirit of God, the Master, is on me

because God anointed me.

Isaiah 61:1, MSG.

Here’s the thing: the Message translation isn’t usually my first go-to bible version.

But, as I read the above, I found myself bugged and blessed by the full stop.

You see, in the NIV version, the same verse reads:

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

Because the Lord has anointed and commissioned me

To bring good news to the humble and afflicted;

Isaiah 61: 1, AMP.

No full stop.

Without the full stop, I’ve always read the above to mean this: “God gives me the power TO DO something.”

And, while that is true, I think my attention has often been focused on me doing, not me being.

Because the truth is, I AM anointed. My being is already anointed by God. 

The spirit of God – the master – is ON me. God’s power is quite literally  in my being, full stop.

By no works that I have done, I am blessed with the presence and power of God living inside of me. 

Sure, that power has a purpose: To bring good news. But it is only because He anointed me, I am enabled by Him to spread the gospel. In other words: It’s not about strife and doing stuff; It is about being and receiving from God the power that only He gives.

And that’s important because I feel like I am running in circles, always facing the same problems. 

But my main problem is that I am trying, striving and attempting to fix my problems rather than simply letting God’s power have its way in my life. 

The master is on me. The creator of heaven and earth. The only one who has the power to save me is always with me, redeeming me. 

Yahweh is in me and I can fully stop there. Rest comes when I learn to accept that God has done the hard work already. 

And so, as I start this new term, I choose to give in to the truth that I have God in me and so I will get through all the things I am trying to get through! I don’t have to strive to change, I can let God do the mountain-moving in my life.

I hope you know that God is with you in your struggle, as well. And that is enough.

Rather than you trying to fathom your next move, you can simply rest in His power and sigh in His strength. He can change the unchangeable. Not a 10-step programme. Not a self-help book. Not another to-do list.

Fully stop in the truth that you are anointed this morning. You have all you need to change. You have all you need to watch mountains move.

Let this give you hope.