Isaiah 61:1-3 - 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,
to proclaim freedom for the captives and release
from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion-- to
bestow on them a crown of beauty 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 had a word from God for all who suffer or are
afflicted. He said that God would bind up the brokenhearted….give freedom to
anyone held captive….provide justice for all wrongs….comfort all who mourn….and
restore the beauty that was taken from our lives during our pain.
Suffering is suffering…whether it was caused by our own
mistakes…..someone else’s mistakes…or satan’s twisted request to attack our faith
in God. God allows pain in our lives for
many reasons. God allows a time of pain
to teach us humility…to prove to satan he has no control over us….or for God to
prove to us he alone is in control of our lives.
I have felt pain in childbirth….in knee surgery….in
occasional allergy headaches….in the mental anguish of divorce from my first
husband…and in the heartbreaking loss of my second husband to death. But my pain pales in comparison to friends
who have suffered much more than I. I
think of many who have fought cancer….of mother’s who have lost children too
soon….and friends who have come through battles of abuse from parents or
spouses. And my pain…or the pain of my friends…. will never reach the level of
pain Jesus suffered on that cross to die for my sins.
The upside of all that pain is the promise of beauty for the
ashes that were produced in the pain we suffered. Some of us will be honored to see the beauty…or
at least a glimpse of it here on Earth. Like Job…God will replace the things
that satan took to try to prove we didn’t love God more than anything else. Some of us will have to wait till we get to
heaven to see the beauty in those ashes. And all of us will have to wait for Jesus
to return to see the perfect justice God promised in this chapter.
Those of us that learn to see the beauty of those ashes here
on earth….have a special job to do for God.
We have to let everyone know that those ashes we let pile up around us
are clouding the vision of the beauty God has planned for us. We have to take
hold of the hands of those that are still sitting smack dab in the middle of
the ashes….who don’t see a way out of their pain. We have to claim Jeremiah 29:11 for them…and
help them walk out of their ashes. They won’t begin to see the plans God has for them while they are still sitting in the bitterness
and pain of the ashes. They won’t see
the future vision and purpose that God has plans to prosper them….they
will still see the ashes as harm ….and will be blinded to the plans God has to
give them hope and a future.
Father…thank you for the promise of turning my own ashes of
pain and hurt into a beauty that will give purpose and meaning to the rest of
my life. Forgive me if I sat in my pain
too long…or if I revisit it from time to time.
Help me to claim your promise ….to turn my pain into something so
beautiful…that you can use it to help others.
Take all my ashes…every last one….so everyone around me…including satan….
will see that belong to you. Amen.
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