Corona Devo 323

To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair.  ~Isaiah 61:3

Have you experienced the shock and sorrow of losing someone close to you?  So stifling is the grief and pain that you can't breathe and although life proceeds around you like a live-action play, it all seems muted and far away.     

Ashes have long been associated with grieving, and not only do they represent something that has "gone away", but they symbolize ruin and desolation, which is how we feel with loss.  When we are broken in sorrow, we may not physically be sitting or rolling in ashes like the Israelites did when grieving, but we relate emotionally and spiritually to the idea.  

All of us will mourn at times during our lives.  The cycle of life and death ensures this.  

If you have recently experienced a loss, then you are covered in the ashes of grief today.  The sorrow is hollowing and today's verses will seem trite and distant to you.  

But while I wasn't looking over the past year or so, God gave me a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair (Isaiah 61:3), and He promises the same for you, in due time. 

I saw my cousins the other day.  Younger than me, I still see them in my mind's eye as little kids playing pool in our basement or pushing J-3 repeatedly on my grandparents jukebox to play "Day-O".  But somehow we are all adults now with families of our own.  

The year I lost my mom they lost their mom and dad.  Another of our aunts passed away in the same span.  The ashes of grief almost buried us.

(2) He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come...

(3) To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair.

In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory.

(4) They will rebuild the ancient ruins, repairing cities destroyed long ago. They will revive them... Isaiah 61:2-4

When we gathered recently, we hugged, we teased, we laughed, and we loved.  The ashes will never be completely removed, but I very clearly felt the crown of beauty that God had placed on our heads in being able to reunite and share in the joy of each other.  When our time together had ended, I was overcome with emotion as I realized that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.  We were no longer wrought with unbearable grief.  By God's grace, we are in a new season.  I like this season, and I praise the Lord for the blessing of it.  

It's ironic that we have to bear the burden of hurt/sadness/hopelessness in order to appreciate the joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair (Isaiah 61:3).  But the contradictory reality is: the depth of our unity the other day would not have occurred if we had not been among those who mourn (Isaiah 61:2).  It's a powerful yin/yang lesson that riddles human lives.  

The hurt/pain/hardships of life will come, and I have many stories about Jesus holding me when I could not stand.  But after the storm, flowers eventually sprout, and I felt their seedlings as I reconnected with my cousins the other day.

We have a long way to go in becoming like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory (Isaiah 61:3), but the rebuilding has begun, and I am filled with gratitude.  

If we stay purposeful in our path following Jesus, then when we least expect it and while we aren't looking, He will place a crown on our head and remove the ashes. 

(2) He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come...

(3) To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair...They will revive them... Isaiah 61:2-4

To everything there is a season, and if you are in the middle of the ash-heap, hang in there.

God's word brings us hope during every season of our lives, and I can testify that He also restores joy.  

Blessings,

sarah

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com/

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