Micah 4:6-8 says, "'In that day,' declares the LORD, 'I will gather the lame; I will assemble the exiles and those I have brought to grief. I will make the lame a remnant, those driven away a strong nation. The LORD will rule over them in Mount Zion from that day and forever. As for you, O watchtower of the flock, O stronghold of the Daughter of Zion, the former dominion will be restored to you; kingship will come to the Daughter of Jerusalem.'"

Who are the lame? Who are the exiles? Who are those whom God has brought to grief? This leaped out at me as I was reading last night and I felt like Abba was showing me that those of us who have left the institution of religion fit this profile. We are the lame... why? We've been beat up by religion. We walk with a limp if we walk at all. Some of us have been nearly murdered (spiritually speaking) by religion. Exiles? Yep, I've been exiled into what I call the dry barren wasteland, or the wilderness. I hear many others talk about being in the wilderness. "Those I have brought to grief..." I don't know about you, but this wilderness experience has been full of grief for me. I have lost so much (yet gained so much more). But it has not been a pleasant experience as I walk through the dry barren wasteland.

I really feel like this was Abba's way of encouraging me that I'm where He wants me to be, and that He is gathering us and making us a strong group. He is bringing us out of the woodwork to find one another and band together. We are learning what it means when it says, "Where the Spirit of the LORD is, there is freedom," and "It is for freedom You've set us free." There are supposedly thousands of us out there who have rejected religion and cried out that we want more of Abba. We want freedom in our relationship! And here in Micah, he has a little tidbit just for us. How awesome is that? He speaks to those of us who feel lame, exiled, and grieved. And here, He speaks hope to us. :)