Ashes Into Beauty- a different kind of post

1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to proclaim 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,[a]
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 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.
Isaiah 61:1-3

One thing that had fell on my mind this evening after putting the girls to bed was how God turns our sinful, wrongful ways and choices of life into a beauty that is just so hard to comprehend. He turns our dirt and ashes into a crown of beauty. I look back and in recent years, as well as the places in my past. Sometimes its easy to still cling to the guilt that once felt so heavy upon me. Even after recommitting my life to Jesus and nailing things to the Cross, I still had areas where this dirt just did not get all cleaned out. I even made mistakes in places like ministry and relationships and family. When words or thoughts would come up saying "If I can only go back to that moment..." etc. I remember the forgiveness God has given and how much leaning on that promise would only help me to let go of the guilt and frustration, completely.

This is one of my favorite passages for different reasons. It mainly talks about the Year of Jubilee and foreshadows the inauguration of the coming Kingdom of God. But I find so much comfort in it knowing that the ONE who is binding our hearts who have been broken, the ONE bringing freedom from our bond ages, the ONE who turns our dirt into beauty, and the ONE comforting those who mourn, is JESUS. Our lives do not have to remain in the darkness of guilt and shame. We do not have to look back into the past and worry. Jesus has come to set us free.

I want to learn to cling to that promise on a daily basis. Its easy to forget when life gets crazy, and maybe your spiritual walk just kind of sits stagnant. I know talking with different mom's this is something we all struggle with in some way. Just not growing as much as we like. And maybe even letting our Bible's get dusty on the shelf. The cause of that could maybe be guilt from not spending enough time, if any with God. Or it could be that we just hadn't completely let go from the past that we have still somewhere in the back of our minds. If busyness takes over your life, take a time to rest and reflect on these promises. I hope they transform your life as they have been doing with me.