Beauty For YOUR Ashes

Faith Filled Thoughts
October 20th, 2008
By Connie Ciccone
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Beauty For YOUR Ashes



Scripture: Genesis 37:35 "He refused to be comforted."

Joseph's brothers were jealous of him and sold him to the slave traders who took him to Egypt. Then his brothers dipped Joseph's coat of many colors into the blood of an animal and returned it to Jacob, their father. When Jacob saw the condition of this special coat that he had made for Joseph, he assumed that Joseph had been devoured by an evil beast and he immediately went into mourning. Jacob had eleven other sons besides Joseph and some daughters, and all of them attempted to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. Jacob made a decision to continue to grieve over this loss and declared that he would go to the grave in mourning over Joseph. Little did Jacob know that God was working His sovereign plan in Joseph's life and would use him as an instrument to save a multitude of people from the famine. Neither did he know that one day he and Joseph would be destined to be together again.

Sometimes our lives seem to shipwreck on the ocean of life. Everything seems to be going along fine until suddenly an unexpected storm comes up and blows us over, we run our ship into a sand bank, or like the Titanic, we hit an iceberg that tears us apart. Everything in our life turns dark as we sink into the waters of hopelessness where our faith is tested beyond measure. The people whom we love and trust the most may fail us or we might even lose them to death. Possibly, our financial deals all fall through and we don't know what direction to take next. Perhaps we receive a bad report from our doctor or we find ourselves in legal trouble. After the shock of these spiritual shipwrecks, the spirit of grief will attempt to find a safe harbor in our soul.

Grief is a strong spirit, and if it can build a stronghold in your life, it will control you. You will never be able to move forward while you are trying to bear the burden or carry the baggage of grief. It is just too heavy. King Solomon said that there is a time to weep and grieve over the losses in our lives, but mourning should only last for a season. There comes a time when we must let go of every loss and every pain of the past and face the future with joy in our hearts. The Lord is waiting to comfort you in your sorrow. You can either be like Jacob, who made a conscious decision to continue in pain by refusing to be comforted, or you can receive the comfort that is available to you right now. (Jesus came to give you beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness Isaiah 61:3). If you submit your grief to Him, He will comfort you. He loves you with an everlasting love, so please don't refuse His offer to set you free from your pain.

May He Bless You and Keep You Today!

With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Connie