Beauty For Ashes
"To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give
them beauty for
ashes." Isaiah 61:3 (KJV).
I sold my house shortly before my husband and I were married five
and a half years ago. I was going to temporarily move into an
apartment, so I needed to eliminate many of the things I was holding
onto that were no
longer necessary. Before I knew it, I had 16 years of my pats in an
old junk heap in front of my house.
Overnight someone had come and set a match to this junk heap. All
that was left was a huge pile of ashes. I was devastated. At the
mess it left. My husband being the loving man he is, was out there
with all his might shoveling these ashes into the garbage truck. As
I looked at this picture, I saw the love of God shoveling away the
ashes of my old life.
Jesus wants us to take our ashes of hurt and disappointment and give
us
something beautiful in return. Refusing to accept Satan's lies that
I could
not put my past behind me, and meditating on scriptures about the
new
things God wanted to bring into my life, were the methods I found
helpful in overcoming life's disappointments. But it took time,
patience, and my willingness to let go, as the fire of the Holy
Spirit burnt them up.
We can't allow Satan to keep us in the ash heap. We need to pray and
ask God to release His promise to give us, "Beauty for Ashes."
Annettee Budzban