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Beauty from Ashes

There is always a difference between how God sees us and how we see ourselves. More often than not, our opinions are completely contrary to His. The same applies to the situations we encounter in life; the circumstances we find ourselves in. Often, we have one view, but God sees things completely differently.

For Jesus’ disciples, the day when He endured the cross was the ultimate trial of their faith. The truth of their circumstances looked bleak. Everything was dark, confusing and scary. 

But there was a greater reality at work; a greater truth unfolding. The disciples saw one reality … death. The greater reality was that the power of death was being broken forever. Life, freedom, healing and hope were being released to all future generations. 

When you are in the midst of turmoil it is difficult to see the bigger plan of God. It’s hard to understand that He is right there with you. 

During a particularly tough season of life, I clearly remember one evening, after a really hard day where I felt overwhelmed and defeated, unsure how I could keep going. Amidst tears, I whispered to the Lord,

“Everywhere I look, all I can see are the ashes of our lives.”

Immediately the words left my lips, the Lord replied:

“Nicola, when you look at something and all you see are ashes, I look at it and see something different. I see potential – the potential to form something beautiful! Because that’s what I do: I make beauty out of ashes.”

I wept as, once again, I realized that my perspective and Jesus’ perspective are so very different. I needed to realign my vision with His. 

In His faithfulness, Jesus took all the brokenness, pain and confusion and did just that – formed something beautiful out of it – and He will do the same for you.

You have a choice to make. You can be ruled by your circumstances and what the world says about them, or you can live in alignment with Jesus and what He says about them.

You need to decide to live from a different place, with a different perspective – the perspective of the unchanging character of the God who loves you and paid the ultimate price to save you.

Lay down your human understanding of your challenging circumstances and root yourself in Him. Listen to His voice and His truth. 

To see your life from God’s perspective is to see potential, to see beauty.