“Beauty for ashes………”

“Fear not, for you shall not be ashamed; neither be confounded and depressed, for you shall not be put to shame.  For you shall forget the shame of your youth, and you shall not [seriously] remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore.”  Isaiah 54:4 AMP

I must realize that God’s ways are not my ways, and that is especially true in dealing with ruined things.

My first inclination, when confronted with ruin, is to say, “It’s finished, it’s done, that’s all there is to it.”  But God never gives up on a ruin; in fact, He begins with ruins and works on them until He transforms them into things of beauty, “beauty for ashes.”  (Isa. 61:3)

Ruined things are my defeat, but to God they are opportunity.

When the earth was “without form, and void” God sent His Spirit and His light to bring order out of chaos and beauty out of blackness.  (Gen. 1:2)

What He did physically for the original earth He does spiritually for people.  

It is a truth---there are not ruined people in God’s category, only opportunities for God to display His creative power. 

There are no hopeless aspects of my personality, only aspects that are waiting to be touched by the power-driven fingers of God.

The greatest ruin of all was Calvary and look how God turned that horrible nightmare into the cradle of salvation for all men.  Is my portion worse than Calvary?

Is any problem more bleak, more foreboding than that? 

The disciples considered Calvary a hopeless smashing of all their plans and dreams.

They forsook Jesus, fled for their lives and considered all their work wasted.  Yet, by the third day their evening turned to morning and a complete restoration of their ruin took place.  

What a God!!!!!

That is how He treats ruins, whether His Son’s or mine!  If I let Him, He will take the shattered portions of my life and build them into a breathtaking ornament of beauty.

Such a God is He!

“He has sent me
to provide for all those who grieve in Zion,
to give them crowns instead of ashes,
the oil of joy instead of tears of grief,
and clothes of praise instead of a spirit of weakness.

They will be called Oaks of Righteousness,
the Plantings of the Lord,
so that he might display his glory.

They will rebuild the ancient ruins.
They will restore the places destroyed long ago.
They will renew the ruined cities, the places destroyed generations ago.”   Isaiah 61:3-4 GW