‘To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes…’ -Isaiah 61:3
When Isaiah promises beauty for ashes, he was encouraging us to look ahead. He was reminding us that the things of this world will pass away, and we need not anguish in our clinging to the beauty we thought once existed.
Isaiah was heralding a new covenantal relationship with God. One so radiant, that the truth of it would cause people to display God’s splendor.
Life can be riddled with heartache. Our beauty for ashes covenant provides strength to endure. We can trust that God is with us through death, loss, and pain, providing for our needs. Providing a Savior to wash and rebuild our souls.
God’s reach is wide and long and high and deep (Ephesians 3:18). He can carry you in your hopelessness, replacing your pain with purpose — and even joy. May you hold on to the truth of this promise through the words to the song, “Beauty for Ashes,” by Mid-City Worship:
‘… you give me beauty for ashes And you pull me close to your heart You have turned mourning to dancing… That’s what you do That’s who you are Brand new eyes, brand new hands You have wiped away my past Brand new day, brand new life You have pulled me from the lies
I’m no longer what I used to be I am stronger, because you live in me The old is gone, the new has come I’m alive!’
Beauty for ashes defines our hope. Because of Jesus, we no longer sit in the ashes of our own sins or sins against us.
He was there. In the midst of it all.
And though we may not always see it, or feel it, or even understand it, we can know beyond a doubt, that He is there now. Still.
