Beauty from ashes

I spent some time in Isaiah 61 the other day... and of course, when God is trying to impress a concept upon me, He bombards me with it. There's an awesome gospel song by Ron Kenoly called Beauty from Ashes, and it was ringing in my head. It prompted me to find the scripture upon which the lyrics are based. Isaiah 61:3-4 says,

"To all who mourn in Israel, He will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory. They will rebuild the ancient ruins, repairing cities destroyed long ago."

Sometimes, I can't help but read this chapter without tears. It's amazing how God has turned all of the ash into beauty in some way or another in my life. And I don't mean just physically... although I'll be the first to admit that I looked like ashes in every which way before Jesus came around.

All of the ash-like experiences of your past can become something beautiful. He can redeem those terrible days and turn them into gifts of testimonial inspiration to someone else. What I've recently seen is that all of the negative church experiences in my life will be redeemed if I go into ministry and serve Him obediently. All of those ashes will be made beautiful.

That's why I included verse four here... He will rebuild the ancient ruins. Whether something about you started out like ash, or started out well and crumbled to ruins, God can rebuild it. Redeemed, restored, rebuilt, whatever you want to call it, God does it.

Seriously! Give this some thought! If you've been around a few born-again followers of Christ, and I mean passionate pursuers of God, you can't help but admit that Jesus is the biggest impact player this world has ever seen. Who else, or what else, can have such a drastic and lasting positive impact on one's life like the One gives beauty for ashes, blessing for mourning, and joy for fear?

As I've spent much time over the past seven months uncovering personal issues that I've swept under the rug for years, I am reminded that I'm not doing this just to cause more pain for myself. Not only will God grant peace, He redeems. In all of of the corners of one's soul where there are ashes, God will replace with something beautiful.