Beauty for Ashes
Isaiah 61:1-7 NKJV
[1] “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; [2] To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, [3] To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” [4] And they shall rebuild the old ruins, They shall raise up the former desolations, And they shall repair the ruined cities, The desolations of many generations. [5] Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, And the sons of the foreigner Shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. [6] But you shall be named the priests of the Lord, and They shall call you the servants of our God. You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, And in their glory you shall boast. [7] Instead of your shame, you shall have double honor, And instead of confusion, they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore, in their land, they shall possess double; Everlasting joy shall be theirs.
For years, I felt shamed because of the inward shame I felt that kept me captive and bound by the chains of regret for the things I did not do and for what I allowed that was not God’s will for me. It also seemed like I had a label over my head as I walked through the days, so I walked with my head low, and my eyes faced down. However, yesterday, as I walked past the classroom and glanced over, to my surprise, I saw that my name was added to the wall with the teacher. I expected something from the Lord but didn’t know where or how until I saw my name. I looked to heaven and praised the Lord because He had already shown me that He would establish me in the Word. Also, as I walked past, I saw in my heart that what I left behind could never amount to the full measure of God’s faithfulness and the future He had planned for me long ago; praise and glory to God, through our Lord, Jesus Christ, amen.
