In January 2020, I had a dream that my husband and I were in a store looking to buy sackcloth. After the dream, I felt sadness and a feeling of dread. I felt strongly that something really bad was on the horizon. I said to myself, Lord, have mercy! It was upsetting, to say the least. I knew from reading my Bible that sackcloth represented mourning and or repentance.
The Lord knows that when He shows me something, I will do my best and everything within my power to make it happen. He knows I will be obedient and follow through on it. I immediately began my search and prayed to the Lord to show me where I could purchase sackcloth garments for my husband and me. To my surprise, it was quite a chore to find this item. I eventually ordered a potato sack bag that I thought I could make into sackcloth, but that didn’t work at all. Many that I found online were very expensive. However, I never gave up. After months of searching and contacting different people, I finally found someone on Etsy. The lady told me that she could customize one from fabric that she already had. Praise the LORD! When I received them, mine was a bit tight, and I felt like I was in a straitjacket. Lord, have mercy! But I made it work.
Sackcloth was a sign of mourning and repentance in the Bible. We see the King of Nineveh put on sackcloth when Jonah visited them and proclaimed throughout the streets that their city would be overthrown if they did not repent. Fearing that Joseph had been eaten by wild animals as his brothers implied, Jacob put on sackcloth as he mourned for his son. During his turmoil and afflictions, Job sewed sackcloth over his skin as he deeply mourned his losses and repented in dust and ashes. In addition, we read that King Hezekiah, when faced with blasphemous threats from the King of Assyria, through Rabshakeh, tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord.
The righteous do not have to fear. The Lord reminded me of the curses that took place in Egypt, the plagues, and deaths. The Bible tells us that while there was a famine in Egypt, there was plenty in Goshen. While there was darkness in Egypt, there was light in Goshen. King David said, I've been young, and now I am old, and I have never seen the righteous forsaken or his seed begging bread. (Psalm 37:25). Are you in right standing with your Maker and Creator?
Throughout this pandemic, I’ve been crying out like the blind beggar, Bartimaeus in Luke 18, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on us!” Those who were leading the way were sternly telling him to keep quiet; but he screamed all the more. This should be the cry of all of us as the days become darker. My other prayer petition is, Lord Jesus, manifest your GLORY! Research God’s glory and what happens when His glory is revealed! Search out those in the Bible and those among us who have experienced the Glory of God and the powerful demonstrations of God’s power like such as Smith Wigglesworth and Mother Mary Jenkins, William Seymour (Azusa Street Revival), Evan Roberts (Welsh Revival), and John Kilpatrick (Brownsville).
