"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me ... To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified" (Isaiah 61:1+3).
What would you rather have, beauty or ashes? Seems like an easy question to answer. Everybody would rather have beauty in stead of ashes, I reckon.
However, when it comes down to it, many peoples' lives show that they actually prefere ashes over beauty. Why?
Because to get beauty, you have to give up your ashes. And that seems scary to many people. "Ashes" can be old habits, sins, likes and dislikes, a bad temper, an angry attitude, and so on. We want to be gentle and meek like Jesus, but we're not willing to give up our own not-so-meek temperament.
In the verses above, it says that Christ came to give us beauty for ashes, joy for mourning, and praise for heaviness. Ashes, mourning and heaviness! Have you ever felt any of that? I have, and I have trades my ashes, my mourning and my heaviness for God's beauty, joy and praise. Is it easy? No! Is it possible? Yes! Because "... greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world" (1 John 4:4). And He that is in you, is greater than your ashes, your mourning, and your heaviness. He IS your beauty; He IS your joy; and He IS your praise. He is all I need in this world and in the next, all I need to do is give Him my old "self", and let Him fill me with Himself.
What would you rather have, beauty or ashes? Seems like an easy question to answer. Everybody would rather have beauty in stead of ashes, I reckon.
However, when it comes down to it, many peoples' lives show that they actually prefere ashes over beauty. Why?
Because to get beauty, you have to give up your ashes. And that seems scary to many people. "Ashes" can be old habits, sins, likes and dislikes, a bad temper, an angry attitude, and so on. We want to be gentle and meek like Jesus, but we're not willing to give up our own not-so-meek temperament.
In the verses above, it says that Christ came to give us beauty for ashes, joy for mourning, and praise for heaviness. Ashes, mourning and heaviness! Have you ever felt any of that? I have, and I have trades my ashes, my mourning and my heaviness for God's beauty, joy and praise. Is it easy? No! Is it possible? Yes! Because "... greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world" (1 John 4:4). And He that is in you, is greater than your ashes, your mourning, and your heaviness. He IS your beauty; He IS your joy; and He IS your praise. He is all I need in this world and in the next, all I need to do is give Him my old "self", and let Him fill me with Himself.
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