Beauty for Ashes
As I talked with a lady on the phone about how this Bible study has been for her, she said, “I am glad God can use ashes. You know there a lot of good things you can use ashes for like making things grow better in your garden.”
I thought to myself that is a perfect lead-in to a little message I want to leave you guys with ….. Ashes make things grow.
How often have you thought, Hey I will take this leftover residue from wood and a brightly burning fire and use it for something great? I will be honest, I was curious about ashes making vegetables grow so of course I googled it:
Some of the things ashes can be used for are:
You can add it to your garden, providing nutrients to the plants and it provides nourishment for the soil
He provides nourishment for our souls through our pain He cultivates new life within us
You can use it to raise the pH of the soil
He can change the PH of our hearts to reflect His beauty and gloryWood ash can keep pests at bay
God’s wisdom that comes from learning from mistakes and discernment can keep the wrong things and people out of our lives. We can help others with our wisdom too.
Use it to keep glass surfaces clean
Psalm 51:10
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Wood ash can absorb spills
He can clean up our mess and make it His message of redemption.
It can provide traction on snowy walkways
Traction helps you move forward. I press towards the Mark Philippians 3:14
When God says He exchanges beauty for ashes that means He can take those things in your life that you see as painful, useless, or leftover residue and make new things grow from them. AWWW what a thought.
What is God growing in your garden or restoring that He can use for His glory? Gladness, joy, courage to speak out, thankfulness, peace, strength, radiance to shine for Him, discernment, boldness in the face of adversity, etc.
Scars are sometimes thought of as leftover residue just like ashes but scars tell a story. People often want us to talk about our physical scars because they are a sign that we have been through something and lived to tell.
I have a scar on my big toe that has been there since I was a little girl. I was riding my big wheel in the middle of the street on the asphalt when my mom said you better get out of that road, I went racing down the hill, wind whipping through my straight golden locks when all of the sudden I hit a rock flipped over the handlebars, looked down at my bleeding toe and scrapped arms then began to cry. I never rode my big wheel in the road again and every time I look down at my toe, I am reminded that flying down the road on a big wheel is not a good idea at five years old.
Scars tell our stories.
Sometimes our scars are not visible yet those scars also tell a story like those we get from abuse, addiction or abortion. Emotional scars are there to remind us that sin is wrong but that God can heal us in our pain and use it for His glory.
The most important scars are those in the hands and feet of Jesus as a sign of His victory over death, hell, and the grave. They tell His story of forgiveness, redemption and that nothing will ever change His unconditional love for us.
1 Peter 2:24
24 Who his own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
First, if you don’t know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, we would be thrilled to help you know that today. Please find one of us and ask.
Second, let God turn your scars into a story of His redemption. Even if you only tell it when God opens the door. Let Him take your ashes and make beauty grow from them.
Psalm 30: 11&12
11 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;
12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.