Beauty for Ashes

-

The other day I was having a conversation with a friend about things going on in our country. She expressed strong feelings about various people that could be part of the problem. Although I tend to have strong feelings about people and situations as well, I do my best to look at the whole picture. However, I cannot see every piece of the puzzle as God can. There is so much He allows to happen, good and bad. Romans 8:28 says that all things work together for good for those who love the Lord. This means that even through bad situations, good can come. Sometimes we see it right away, sometimes things become obvious later, and sometimes we never know. I choose to trust that God is sovereign, and He can make all things work for good even if I don't get to see what that good is.


Even through the racial and political unrest that is happening, I am grateful. Many of us have been apathetic for too long. What's happening is exceedingly difficult and has brought a lot of pain. However, I truly believe through these labor pains and sacrifices of so many, our country will give birth to a beautiful new generation. Sometimes you must walk through darkness in order to reach the light.
I could see that theme throughout the time our family journeyed through my son Isaiah’s struggles. I could even see it the night he almost died. If we hadn't been there, the families in the adjacent waiting room, would not have been ministered to that night. If we had not still been in that hospital the following week, the single mom wearing shoes two sizes too small, there with a very sick daughter, would not have received the clothes and shoes she needed. If we had not gone through such a trial, I would not be sitting here right now, doing my best to bring words of hope and encouragement to you.
Not one of us desires to go through difficult things, but when you set your eyes on Christ your lenses tend to change, revealing the beauty for ashes.

“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.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭61:3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Should Someone Call an Exorcist?

-
Image
Last Friday I went bowling with some of my family. I am aware of my low skill level, so I remained humble throughout the first game, and surprisingly finished in 1st place!  The second game began and I just knew I would dominate even more. I may not have been quite as humble. I was last on the list to go. I stood up and approached my ball with confidence. I picked it up, set my eye on the center arrow painted on the lane, then took a few quick steps forward just as I had before.  As I took my last step, I swung my arm backward, then forward, and fell flat on my face. Actually, flat is not entirely accurate. I’m pretty sure every one of my limbs flew in a different direction, and the position of my head may have had folks wondering if they should call an exorcist. I also seemed to be temporarily blinded from the fall but could hear my ball bouncing its way down the lane. Let’s pause for a moment of prayer. The problem was that I had stepped over the foul line into the lane— 1. Not reali
Read more

The Complexity of Prayer

-
Image
Have you ever considered the complexity of prayer? Have you ever had something you needed to pray about, but you just couldn’t bring yourself to talk to God about whatever the issue was? I have experienced that many times. I will call it “Prayer paralysis.” Prayer paralysis happens when you are afraid of any answer God might give you. If He says no, then you might feel bad, or sad, or even angry. If He says yes, then your fear factor increases because you just don’t think you can handle what a “Yes” entails (which essentially means that you don’t trust Him). So instead of revealing your lack of trust (Like seriously, you don’t think He knows? ), you just don’t pray. It’s kind of like when you were a little kid, and you would sit still and close your eyes, thinking that it would make you invisible. God already knows our fears of failure, self-pride, and even our trust issues, so we might as well just go ahead and lay it all at His feet. There’s another kind of prayer paralysis that I ha
Read more

Go Deeper

-
Image
  Anyone struggling with anxiety? I have struggled with it quite a bit. Then, I realize that forgetting to bring all of my anxiety-inducing problems to God, is a big part of the problem. Yesterday I talked about living in endurance mode. Part of that is taking all of the difficult things, and trying to wait them out.  If I really think about it, I may have subconsciously believed that struggling is just part of the journey and that I need to suck it up, because Jesus went through way more than I ever will.    But, “ Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28)  He never intended for us to hold onto them. Sometimes we don’t bother saying anything to God because, well, He knows what’s happening. He can change it if He wants to. So we sit paralyzed—enduring! Is that familiar to anyone? Though He could whisk our struggles away at any time, part of the journey, part of our relationship with the Creator is rooted in commu
Read more