Beauty For Ashes

literature as a symbol of death and resurrection. According to legend, the phoenix lived in Arabia; when it reached the end of its life (500 years),it burned itself on a pyre of flames, and from the ashes a new phoenix arose.

Modern-day storytellers use this ancient legend when they tell of a person who triumphs over tragedy. They will say, “So-and-so, after being counted out,

defeated, and deemed as destroyed, rose phoenix-like from the ashes of their defeat.” Although only a myth, nevertheless, it is a powerful illustration of one’s ability to rise triumphantly over difficulties. For the believer, something else is even more powerful than the phoenix rising from the ashes of extermination. It is the promise of our sovereign God to lift us from the ash heap of our defeat into realms of glory and victory. This is no myth:

He raises the poor out of the dust, and lifts the needy out of the ash heap, that He may seat him with princes–with the princes of His people (Ps. 113:7 NIV).

Do you feel you are poor?

Do you feel that you are in the dust?

Do you feel needy?

Do you feel you are on the ash heap?

This promise is tailor-made for you. God promises to lift you out of the dust, lift you out of the

ash heap to seat you as one of His princes. From ash heap to sitting as a prince among princes! Princes don’t feed on ashes. That’s an exchange worth singing about.

I will close by going back to the beginning of this message and recalling the words Jesus read from the prophet Isaiah.

"The Spirit of the LORD God is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified" (Isa. 61:1-3).

The ministry of Jesus today, to each of us through the Holy Spirit, is

–to comfort

–to console

–to give beauty for ashes

–to give the oil of joy for mourning

–to give the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness

–to make life rich and productive

–to glorify the name of Jesus

In conclusion:

I close with the words of a song by Milton Bourgeois (1972). The chorus gives us direction today if we want to move past our Ziklag of ashes. It says:

Rise and be healed in the name of Je - sus;

Let faith a - rise in your soul!

Rise and be healed in the name of Je - sus;

He will make you ev- ‘ry whit whole!

Let us pray:

Lord Jesus, we thank you that it isn’t every day that we have a Ziklag experience; that we find ourselves in a place of burned-up hopes, dreams and aspirations. But for those who may have been there and done that we pray that the Holy Spirit will help them, like David, to find strength in Your faithfulness, goodness, and mercy; to arise from the ashes of disappointment, ashes of loss and come forth in resurrection life. Comfort those who mourn. Give beauty for their ashes.

Give them the garment of praise for their spirit of heaviness and make their life rich and productive for Your glory. Amen

Charles W. Holt

Orange, TX

email: cholt@gt.rr.com