Isaiah 61, Part 3: Out of the Ashes

SCRIPTURE:  The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news … to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified [or that he may display his beauty]. Isaiah 61:3 ESV

THOUGHT: God displays his beauty by comforting and renewing those who trust in him, by helping them rise from the ashes time and time again when no one thought they could.

I don’t know about you, but these little resurrections keep me going forward in the life of faith. I’ve seen the ashes – lives burned to the ground because of harshness and abuse and sin – and I’ve seen the beauty that comes out of them and the gladness that permeates their spirits as God restores them. I’ve gotten to stand right next to oaks of righteousness and feel their branches over me and roots under me. They’ve inspired me to keep going. I’ve been comforted when I was in deep mourning, and found out how the garment of praise strengthened me.

I pray that you too get to experience what Jesus was saying to that little crowd at the church in his hometown that day because he is the same today: he is Emmanuel, God with us, the deeper magic as C.S. Lewis put it, the mediator of a new covenant and the blood that speaks a better word as the writer of Hebrews puts it (12:24).

Let’s enter the season of Christmas with a determination to press beyond the mourning, the ashes, the fainting spirits to a God who makes a way where there is no way (Isaiah 43:16-19).

SONG: Our God, Chris Tomlin

PRAYER: Into the darkness you shine, out of the ashes we rise. There’s no one like you. Thank you, oh Light of the World!