Isaiah 61:3 – “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.”
This is a very special word given to me from the Father as I was beginning to process several years of extreme difficulty. There is so much wisdom in this word and the promise of restoration for us all!
“My dear child, before ashes can be turned into beauty, you must first have ashes. Ashes come from things that have been burned; things that to you look like failures, hurts, traumas, and defeats. Hopeless situations from an earthly viewpoint, but nothing ever looks hopeless to Me. I Am able to turn every earthly sorrow for good, for use in My purpose.
Everything woven together…good things, AND things turned for good into a beautiful tapestry. There is no waste when I transform ashes into beauty. Not a single tear goes unnoticed. They are all collected into a bottle as reminders to Me of the beauty I am in the process of creating.
I see every sorrow you will encounter and have already made a way of redemption out of it. Bring to Me your sorrows. I must wait for your surrender of them into My safekeeping. You will be tempted to hang on to them, for they produce a strange comfort; one that is fleeting at best.
You cannot have beauty without ashes and you cannot have ashes without surrender…raising up the white flag, raising up the hands, declaring ‘I surrender! I don’t want this any longer. This isn’t working. HELP!’
Yes, you must surrender the wounded, infected, festering places that have been revealed in your heart.
It is there that I desire to take My fiery Word, living and active, alive with My Presence, to cleanse by fire those hurts, traumas, painful memories, and painful emotions. I cleanse with FIRE! Like gold, which you are to Me, I burn the dross of those infected wounds, disinfecting and purifying until there’s nothing left of that area but ashes.
BRING ME YOUR HEART!
BRING ME YOUR SORROWS!
BRING ME YOUR BROKENNESS!
BRING ME THE DESPICABLE PLACES OF YOUR HEART..the things that keep you drowning in shame and condemnation. Don’t you know I already know it all?
Everything in your heart is known by Me. You’re no different than any other child of Mine. Sin has ravaged you, and I am here to put you back together. Much of your ravaging has come through broken choices of broken people.
Notice, I didn’t say wrong people. For I saw it all ahead of time and have made the path of freedom leading to a place of so much joy that you will leave the sting of any poor choices made by yourself or others in the dust!
I saw what detours you would make, and I am able to take all the pieces of your life and make it into a beautiful tapestry of My grace, My goodness, and My good plans and thoughts towards you.
Now you see the purpose of surrender. I made your heart but I have given you complete authority over it. You must give Me access to the festering places, allowing Me to incinerate and bring them to ashes.
But I do not stop with ashes. For I turn those ashes into beauty with My liquid love; My healing balm. My love, which is pure light, restores and mends the broken places, bringing new life!
I am not afraid nor repulsed by you or your failures. I have already been given beauty for My ashes; for My ashes are your ashes, which I took as My own to the cross. This is how I am able to see you as broken but beautiful. I already see you at the finish line. The more broken places you give Me, the more beautiful you become!”
Psalm 139:23-24 – “God, I invite your searching gaze into my heart. Examine me through and through; find out everything that may be hidden within me. Put me to the test and sift through all my anxious cares. See if there is any path of pain I’m walking on, and lead me back to your glorious, everlasting way—the path that brings me back to you.”
Psalm 56:8 – “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.”
Romans 8:28 – “And we know, with great confidence, that God, who is deeply concerned about us, causes all things to work together as a plan for good, for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose.”