Beauty for Ashes?

“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 … and provide for those who grieve in Zion – to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes…”(Is. 61:1, 3).
 
“Beauty for ashes” is a common phrase. It creates a comforting image to fall back on when we feel the pain of our past (or present!). Today, however, I’m going to take us past the comfortable, pretty picture and talk about what this can really be in our lives – if we let it.
 
What I’m talking about is this: we read “beauty instead of ashes” but think “beauty from the ashes.” You might be thinking, “What’s the difference?” Let me explain.
 
Beauty from ashes means ashes are our foundation; that’s where our roots are planted. And if our roots are buried in our ashes, they are going to continue to carry that pain to every part of our life, despite all our best efforts to hide it. Too many of us have already lived that –smiling and laughing on the outside while the inside is still bent over in grief and despair.
 
Beauty instead of ashes means that the old is gone – God has made a trade. Think about it a minute – what could your life look like if your brokenness, whatever it may be, wasn’t the foundation of your daily life? If fear didn’t dictate every decision? If shame didn’t affect every personal interaction?
 
If this sounds like a completely different life, you’re right! It’s not going to look like who you were; it’s not going to have anything in common with the old. How could it? More importantly, why would you want it to?
 
So much time and effort gets put into trying to minimize, forget, cover up or make up for our pasts. The good news is that God is offering a better option.
 
Maybe you don’t think it’s possible, but what could you lose by giving it a try? Tell God you’re ready to stop the cover-up, and give Him free rein to do whatever He likes with you. Ask Him to uproot you from those ashes – and watch how fast beauty begins to bloom.

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