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When something burns to ashes it means that it has reached its end and there is no further burning that can take place. I know you have heard this saying that goes ,’You have reached rock bottom’, in short where you are now you cannot continue in that direction, that is the end of the road. Just one case in point is found in 2 Kings 4:1-2 whereby a prophet died in debts and his children were about to be sold to slavery to pay their father’s debt and even then, there wasn’t any food to eat in the house.
Many times, we get burned to ashes in many ways by friends, lovers, bosses, loved ones, even people we trusted. Most of us attend churches because of those ashes, in hope that something good will come out of those ashes or if they would even be left in the church.
Did you know that sometimes that fire you are looking for is covered by ashes and since you are so consumed with thinking about the ashes you end up missing the fire beneath. Quit thinking about the ashes and start thinking about the fire.
Take away the ashes first by blowing them away and then you will see the fire beneath. How do you do that, it is by giving your ashes to God according to Isaiah 61:1-3? Cast your burdens unto Jesus for he cares for you. Give God your hurt, difficulties, headaches, problems, etc in exchange for that beauty you have been looking for, all these years, it could be something so rewarding and good like that new business, or new people in your life, etc.
Quit thinking about what you lost or went through because that is no more for us Christians. This could come in the form of a friend you thought will stand with you in the time of need, but he betrayed you and you got burned. Remember burning is sometimes so bad that you can’t eat, sleep or even work.
Why are you keeping those ashes while there is much more than you can expect beyond the ashes?
Examples of people who rose from ashes and became great:
1. Abraham Lincoln was defeated 8 times in elections but ended up becoming the greatest president
2. Albert Einstein was denied a teaching post, but he ended up making the syllabus to be taught by those who denied him the teaching post.
3. Mao ZeDong built a strong nation called China with the help of an army of poor people.
4. Mahatma Gandhi (who was considered untouchable in the social hierarchy) became the father of a nation called India.
All this and many more were just people like you and me until they believed that beyond their ashes there was much more than the eye could see.
Remember only God can rebuild something beautiful from those ashes. Ecclesiastes 3: 1-4 says there is a season for everything, so it could be your season of sadness, confusion, etc
Story Of Ashes To Beauty
Sometimes depending on how long it takes to give up those ashes to the Lord, it might take a long time to see the beauty.
For instance, in Japan a long time ago they used to restore any broken vessel be it a pot or anything else even broken ceramic. The only thing was how long would it take them to collect those broken pieces and then they would even mix them with Gold and remake them to look more beautiful than before.
According to Haggai 2:3,9 so, God says that your latter glory will be much better. Yes, people will talk about the ashes but not what you will become when the ashes are taken away. Remember what you are becoming is more than what you were. Pain can change your character to something you didn’t want in life. What is more important is what you became and not what happened.
Most people see the rock and not the diamond or the gold it will become afterward. They keep telling you how impossible that thing is. You don’t have what it takes, the beauty, money, education, etc. Hence this leaves you feeling useless, forgotten, rejected, etc
But I am here to remind you that if the Japanese can repair a broken vessel, then our God can do much better. Yes, it might take some time to do the restoration work but it’s worth it. If we try to speed up the process, we risk causing further damage, hence prolonging the process.
Abram in the Bible was childless for many years, but he eventually got a child, just imagine when Abram tried to speed up the process, he actually prolonged it and caused more problems to himself and his family.
According to Job 2:8, God will give us beauty for ashes. But for that to happen you must wait upon the Lord (Isaiah 40:31).
Have you laid those ashes at the feet of Jesus in hope of receiving beauty? The longer you wait the more the situation becomes worse. Remember Psalm 118:8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to depend on people no matter what.
Despite how messed up you are, God can still use you in a mighty way. Look at the case of Moses and Paul who were both murderers but even so, God used them mightily.
God didn’t come into this world for the righteous only but for the ungodly (Mark 2:17). No condition is too bad and as long as you are breathing God is not yet done with you. Remember that he came to redeem us and bring hope to the hopeless.
Pastor Nathaniel
