“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, [Hallelujah] because the Lord has anointed me to preach 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, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion - to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness [Joy] instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair [depression]. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor” (Isaiah 61:1-3 NIV).
I had a bonfire recently. I had been struggling with going forward in my life. Every time I got to a certain point, I couldn’t move anymore. I finally realized that something was hampering my future. It was a culmination of a lifetime of mistakes and failures that kept plaguing my mind and spirit, keeping me from plunging forward on this new path. An old friend advised me that I should engage in a writing session, listing everything that was bothering me and then burn it. I did and as I sat and watched years of mistakes, sorrows and pain inflicted from personal choices and opinions of others around me burn into ashes, this great release came upon me. I offered up to God all of my brokenness, everything that had culminated from my life and He set me free from the memories that were holding me back. These ashes reminded me of God’s promises for beauty, gladness and praise if we hold nothing back from him. These are not mere words from a book. They are the healing balm that we have been searching for. Would you allow God to reach deep inside your wounded soul today and heal you and then turn your ashes in to something beautiful? He’s waiting.