Skip to main content

Can Beauty Come Out of Ashes?

Imagine for a moment being wrapped in total darkness. The smell of smoke from all that has been reduced to ashes lingers in the air. Simultaneously, you feel the heat of your surroundings and the coldness of isolation. Everything that once was is no longer. Imagine rummaging through the darkness trying to salvage anything of value. Frantically searching for something to cling to, anything with an inkling of security, you lose your footing as your very foundation crumbles under your feet. Life has spontaneously combusted. Suddenly, you have lost the sense of safety because everything that was secure and steady has now gone sideways. When complete devastation has become your reality, you sit head in hands with no audible words but crying out from the depths of your inner being. "God, help me!" How can something beautiful emerge from these gray, smoldering ashes?

God often gives us answers in the natural to things that occur in us either physically, emotionally, or spiritually. The volcano is an accurate representation of human character, behavior, and life experiences. Inside a volcano intense pressure causes earth plates to move and intense heat causes the volcanic rock to form. So, you have the repetitive scenario of intense heat and intense pressure, heat and pressure, heat and pressure, causing a sometimes-violent eruption spewing rocks, gas, and ash that destroys everything in its path. Volcanic activity can trigger floods, landslides, tsunamis, and forest fires.

Isn't that life sometimes? Things come our way in an almost domino effect. One incident seems to set off a chain of troublesome events. We've all heard and likely used the old clichés, "When it rains, it pours. If it's not one thing, it's another," and so on. Truly, this has been my story for nearly nine months. I felt trapped in the wearisome pattern of intense heat and intense pressure. Then one glorious day, I ran across this scripture in Isaiah and my spirit leaped within me! In chapter 66:9, our Father promises, "I will not cause pain without allowing something new to be born." Nine fatiguing months of immense pressure comparable to labor pains would produce something new inside of me. Something beautiful would emerge from so much anguish.

Did you know, volcanic ash is full of elements and nutrients that regenerate the soil and often develop into some of the richest agricultural lands on the earth? Beautiful flowers spring forth in brilliant reds, yellows, and purples. Combined with other particles propelled into the atmosphere, ash creates brilliant sunsets all around the world. Volcanic activity reshaped landscapes and formed some of the most beautiful islands in Hawaii. So yes, dear friends, beauty can most definitely come from ashes.


Isaiah 61:3, "...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 joy 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."

To God be the Glory!
Labels:

Comments

  1. UnknownAugust 9, 2018 at 2:16 PM

    God if faithful! He trades our dead ashes into something beautiful! Thank you Jesus!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Joseph: Treasure Chest

I've so enjoyed the study of Joseph, thus far.  For me, it has been much like finding a treasure chest, cautiously opening the lid, peering in trying to see everything the chest holds.  Layers upon layers, depths upon depths, discovering and analyzing every part of his life recounted in the Bible like examining small gemstones or more accurately witnessing the most beautiful diamond being formed amidst the ugliest circumstances.  "Natural diamonds are formed about 100 miles beneath the earth's surface where carbon rich rocks are melted by the heat of the earth's mantle, a layer of liquid lava rock, and are compressed by the enormous pressure of the many miles of earth above them. As the earth churns, the heated rock may move upwards away from the heat and cool over time, which can form diamonds if the conditions are just right. It takes hundreds of thousands of years for the process to take place." (ehow.google)  To simplify--high temperature, high pressur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Get Dressed!

As a woman, getting dressed for the day can be a very meticulous process of matching the shoes, the earrings, even the makeup. It can be a frustrating process if, Heaven forbid, you have put on a few pounds! (Gasp!) It can be rewarding if you have managed to actually drop a few pounds! (Gasp, Gasp!) Getting dressed can literally set the mood for the day or even the entire week. So, I've been pondering if something can be so important to us in the natural, how important must it be in the Spirit realm? Jesus said to His disciples, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on." Later He tells us the condition of our hearts determines whether or not we are considered "unclean." At an early age, I memorized the armor of God. That is, the helmet of salvation, breastplate of righteousness, belt of Truth, sword of the Spirit, and finally the shoes of peace. My 3-year-old has it down pat! I b...
1 comment
Read more

Character Traits

The first of the year is always a time of looking inward--self-evaluation.  The fact is, we all have things that we do not like about ourselves.  Most commonly, we describe them as "character flaws".  Perhaps, we should ask ourselves if these attributes are really flawed or is it more accurate that our use of them is where we err.  Sometimes, I think it is the way we exert these quirks that determine what we do and do not like about ourselves as well as how others view us and how we view them.   Also, keep in mind that an imbalance of these qualities can be taken to the extreme and most certainly become flawed.  Some examples: Determination ® Strong-willed, stubbornness Humility ®  low self-esteem Meekness ® weakness Organized  ® obsessive Leadership skills ® controlling, bossy Most of these idiosyncrasies should be viewed as strengths rather than weaknesses.  In the appropriate settings and...
Post a Comment
Read more