Blessed to be a blessing

Do you want to be a blessing? Then you first have to be blessed. Do you want to set people free? Then you first have to be set free yourselv. This is a Biblical principle. You cannot give what you have not gotten. In Isaiah 61, Isaiah prophecies about Jesus (see Luke 4:18-21) that He will set people free. " The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion - to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. (Isaiah 61:1-3, my emphases). To sum it up, we could say that Jesus came to set the capitves free, free from everything that binds us.
It's wonderful to be set free. However, it's even more rewarding when you're set free yourself, and have experienced to go from being in shackles, so to speak, to complete freedom, that you can help other people be set free. And that's what verse 4 tells us: "They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations" (Isaiah 61:4). When you're set free, you will rebuild other people, restore God's peace to them and becoming a tool in renewing their lives. "They" in vers 4, are those who are set free in vv. 1-3.
You're blessed to be a blessing!