Beauty From Ashes: Finding Hope in the Midst of DevastationSample

Jesus reminds us in John 16:33, “In this world you will have trouble, but take courage, for I have overcome the world.”

And that’s the key to the ashes that cover our days in this life. The deeper truth that shines through every bit of our grief, and pain, and sin, is this: Christ came to set us free. Christ came to redeem. Christ came to bring hope.

Christ came to bring beauty from ashes.

He never intends for us to stay stuck in our sin, pain, or deep sorrow. He heals and restores. He calls us onward. He reminds us that in him, we have great purpose and hope. There is power in our stories. Our stories are for us to share so that we can give hope to those around us.

Your purpose doesn’t change because of what you’ve had to walk through in your life. The ashes and the scars we carry are part of our story. When Jesus came back from the grave, he didn’t come back without the scars—he showed them off! He carries those scars to bring hope to each and every one of us.

There’s beauty and greatness behind every mark of darkness. The ashes will fall away—they don’t stay forever—but his greatness and glory shine forever through every broken place and flaw we’ve struggled through. There is beauty that comes from the light shining out of the darkness.

When we look back at Job, we see the beauty that came after he was in the ashes. He held onto the promises of the Lord and was given back everything that was taken from him.

Daniel’s beauty from the ashes came about while in captivity: he was elevated and protected by God.

When we look back at the genealogy of Jesus, the bloodline goes back to Tamar and she was overcome by the blood of the lamb.

God will bring beauty from your ashes. He’s done it before, and he’ll do it again. It’s just who he is.