Guest Author, Anna Harris, shares a very insightful article on choosing the right clothes for the task that has been assigned to us today. Are you wearing the right ‘uniform’? Ed. 

“I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”
Isaiah 61:10

One of the first chores I do each day is prepare my clothes for work. I have a uniform that identifies me and I wear an access pass to get me into secured offices. It is an ongoing chore in my house for everyone to get their clothes ready for a new day, but the Lord does this too.

When Jesus met Bartimaeus, he knew the man was a beggar because of his dirty coat (Mark 10:46-52). When Bartimaeus, a blind man, heard that Jesus was passing by his first response was to call out repeatedly asking for mercy. Bartimaeus was so impacted by the presence of the Lord that he threw off his Beggar’s Coat and blindly ran towards Jesus.  Throwing off his personal security and protection, his identity, he must have stumbled as he followed Jesus’ voice.  He didn’t know the Lord had a beautiful new robe for him.

When Jacob gave Joseph a special colourful coat (Genesis 37:3), he was expressing the love he felt for his favoured son that he and Rachel waited so long for. It sent a very different message to Jacob’s brothers. In fact, it made Joseph a target for resentment. Joseph lived with so much love and favour from his father that he had no idea what life was like for his brothers on the outside. 

Before I met Jesus, my robe was shame and humiliation. The bullies in the schoolyard named me the fat kid and I cowered behind a cloak of shame. It was in that same schoolyard that I told Jesus I believed in Him and I was sorry for my sin. He forgave me, gave me the gift of salvation and washed me clean from sin. He dressed me in a beautiful Robe of Righteousness. He knows my height, my shape, my size so it fits perfectly.  When I wear it, I feel like the Father’s favourite daughter. He made me and He said I am wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).

 I wear this robe like a uniform every day, because the Lord’s mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). This forgiveness Jesus told us about, “not just seven times but seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:21-22), is all day long seven days a week. He gives it to us and expects us to extend it to others. The Lord washes us clean by his love, day after day, and our robe is clean like his mercies every morning. 

Today, my job is to be the hands and feet of Jesus by extending love, mercy and forgiveness to all I meet. Maybe God has called you to do the hard work of constructing the House of God so he has given you overalls, a tool-belt and steel-capped boots. Or, perhaps He has asked you to pray so he has given you the Armour of God, ready for the spiritual battle. No matter what job God has called you to do today, He has dressed you, prepared, protected and armed you for the day. You can trust Him to have your clothes ready tomorrow too.

Anna Harris
12 March, 2025