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 61:3
He gives us beauty for ashes. Think of that. What are ashes?
According to a dictionary...
ash–noun
1. the powdery residue of matter that remains after burning.
In other words: it's what is left after the fires have come and devoured.
It makes me think... He gives us beauty for ashes. Why ashes? Why that particular analogy? I think it can mean different things, especially for different walks in life. Ashes are ugly and messy. He takes our ugliness. All the loathsome thoughts. All the impure motives and restores us. But I also think it carries a slightly different meaning...
The Lord himself allows us to go through fires. He allows the burning to take place. When He gives us beauty for ashes, I believe He was the one who has caused us to become ashes in the first place. He often brings us to the rawest, most vulnerable states in order to construct and mold something infinitely beautiful.
"...the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in." ~Proverbs 3:12
1 comment:
Beauty from pain. That's an amazing thing. It's so counter intuitive to us, thinking that beauty comes after you've been burned. I certainly don't feel beautiful after I've been sick all week, much less having my body black and burned, but God does. He sees us for the beauty we truly are, regardless of how we feel or how we look. I've always had trouble accepting that, but I pray that God can burn me down and tell me that I am beautiful and that I matter to him. I long to be free of the cloud of earthly "beauty" and to just say that nothing matters except what God says of me. And then like a phoenix from the ashes I will arise and embrace his love.
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