Beauty From Ashes: Finding Hope in the Midst of DevastationSample

What does the phrase “beauty from ashes” truly mean?

We discover it in today’s readings.

In Nehemiah 8:10, where we read: “Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

In Isaiah 41:10, where God tells us: “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”

He has the victory in all of this.

God’s truth says this: he was there, in the midst of it all. He was there when life didn’t go the way had hoped for or wanted things to. He was there when we were abandoned by our loved ones. He was there when we had to answer the phone call we never expected to get. He was there when everything around us fell apart, and He was there when no one else was.

Think of a moment when you felt like God wasn’t there. Maybe it was a dream that was shattered, a phone call you didn’t expect to receive, or maybe a promise broken yet again by a loved one.

Whatever it was, stay in that moment. Now ask God, “Where are you?”

He is right there with you.

Now thank him for being there, thank him for never leaving you, and thank him for loving you through it all.

Though we may not always see it, or feel it, or even understand it, we can know beyond a doubt: God is with us.

Though we live in a world where we face trouble many days, God will never leave us or forsake us and his love for us is greater than we could ever imagine.