Beauty for Ashes*
Isaiah
61 v 3”....To Give Beauty for Ashes.....”
When
I came across this scripture, it gave me so much hope and expectation in my own
times of grief and distress....
We
tend to aggravate ourselves with self deprecating comments and a barrage of
self loathing remarks. We attack our own
self-esteem, berate ourselves with unkind words and negative remarks and
constantly compare ourselves to others.
Before
we know it, life becomes unbearable! We begin to drag our feet to the rhythm of
despair constantly playing in our minds as we go through life. Ultimately, our hope is stifled and we feel
life is nothing but a drag. We play the
blame game, if not blaming ourselves; we blame life, our family, parents,
upbringing, friends, careers etc. Once
we play the blame game, or blame shifting, we subconsciously raise our fist to
the world! Our attitudes as stale as a worn out rubber we never become part of
the solution, but we become pretty abrasive and unkind toward others.
Life
hadn`t been all sweet and rosy for me as I would have liked, and just the fact
that my flaws seemed to be aggravated by a situation I found myself in did not
help matters either.
I
constantly attacked myself internally, mocking my very existence in this life. But how could I climb out of this pit of
despair, a tunnel of never ending darkness, fear, panic and very bleak toward
the future? How could I find the joy
within, was the any reason to celebrate me or life itself? But how could life turn out hopeless all of a
sudden? My questions, like a barrage of
missiles in my mind, I took to entertain them like a powerless bound
prisoner. A prisoner of an illusional
mind, I took to negativity as a way of life.
But how could a sudden turn of events cripple me? I thought I was strong
enough, I thought there was more to me. Unbeknown to me, I sunk in a quicksand
of negativity with no hope of ever saving myself. But how could a sudden turn of events cripple
me? I thought I was strong enough and I thought there was more to me, but why
God why? How come Lord? Did you really allow it?
By
God`s Grace however, I stumbled upon an enlightening scripture....”God grants
beauty for ashes....” This gave me such assuring comfort and relief! I knew,
being in my Heavenly Father`s hands is a lifetime assurance and never will He
ever toss me away because I was flawed.... I hung onto this scripture with
every fibre of my being! It became the first divine promise I clung to, after
all other promises had fallen to the ground. If I was to see and experience
change, then this has got to be it. I
didn’t care how long it would take, but since God had promised, He got the
ability to do a new birthing in me. He`s
got the power to recreate out of the `ashes` in my life. These ashes of brokenness, pain,
hopelessness, and despair wound me up.
All
I needed was something to believe in, and this was it... God`s Word, becoming
real to me. I felt the soothing in my
soul, the gentle hope resting on me like a butterfly, the peace build up in my
being as it flooded in me. What mercy!
Since
then and even now, when I`ve had to meditate on the scripture in order to avoid
being hard on myself (as we all tend to) I`ve only witnessed the end result of
His Grace through His Love which continuously transforms me.....
I
have since envisioned Him beholding me in His glory and splendour, as the rays
of His glory and radiance blaze on my flaws and turn them into a beautiful
mosaic masterpiece.....
There
are countless times, I have looked at myself and wondered “what happened..? How
did I change...? How did I overcome that weakness...pain.... When did my joy
return?”
Well that`s the transforming power of
God. We can never trust ourselves to
change ourselves, but we can trust Him to Love us to Life!
He
Is gentle with our wounds, Strong in our weaknesses, Sensitive to our grief’s
and Healer of all our pains.
Isaiah
61 v 3 “...To give them beauty for ashes....”
Be
encouraged * J
His
Beloved....
