Has anyone ever told you you are beautiful? And did you actually believe it? So often we feel uncomfortable, embarrassed, unworthy of such a compliment. The moment of flattery quickly dissipates as counter-arguments creep into our minds.
Yesterday I attended a women’s conference at Show-Tell Bible church in Qwa Qwa. The theme for the day was Inner and Outer Beauty. The conference was an extra special treat because my roommate June gave the first message and my colleague Amanda interpreted for her. They were a dynamic duo!
They taught how in Bible times people wore ashes when they were in mourning. It was an outward sign of their inward turmoil and grief. Mourning is natural, and an important part of healing and moving forward. But it’s also something that can keep us from feeling loved, beautiful, or worthy of either. The enemy would prefer we remain in mourning, stuck, paralyzed, “processing”, wallowing…
Isaiah 61 tells us that the Lord wants to be right there with us - binding up broken hearts, freeing us from whatever is holding us back, releasing us from darkness, comforting us, even avenging on our behalf. Do you need any of these things? I know I do…
The Lord also wants us to end our mourning, and give up our ashes for the crown of beauty he wants to bestow upon us. Since we put the ashes on, I feel like we have to take them off for God to do his thing. We need to allow him to work and trust that he is. Only then will we be considered oaks of righteousness, displaying his splendor, able to rebuild, restore and renew whatever has been devastated.
Has something been devastated in your life? Whatever it is, God wants to trade you beauty for ashes. Sounds like a pretty good trade to me…
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