Ashes
These past few weeks
have been oh so character building. The script of how we thought life was going
to go has been rewritten, a person that we love and held dearly to our hearts
and adore has been removed. It has been the hardest season yet in my 21 for the
9th time years.
Yet,
through it all ~ God’s grace has shown so brightly. One of the many found Truths
I have anchored to is the Lord is faithful and Remains. I love word studies and
finding out what words in scripture or writings mean, so what does the word Remain
mean:
In
the dictionary the definition of Remain is: all that is left after other parts
have been taken away, used up or destroyed.
God’s
grace: the divine influence on one’s heart; of which I don’t deserve ~Remains. And
it is Enough moment by moment. & God’s truth of strengthening us in our weakness ~Remains.
2 Corinthians 12:9 And
He (Jesus) said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made
perfect in weakness”
His
word ~Remains
“Isaiah 40:6 All flesh
is grass and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass
withers and the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it, surely
the people are grass. The grass withers, the flowers fade. But the Word of our
God stands forever.
And in those times
that are so hard what are God’s words that~ Remain; His promises to us:
Heb 13:5 Never will I leave you, never will I
forsake you.
2 Peter 5:10 His
divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the
knowledge of Him that called us to glory and virtue
Rom 8:38 For I am
convinced that Neither death, nor life nor angels nor principalities, nor
things present, not things to come nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any
other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
And after we know what
He says to us, after we know the promises He tells us, what does He require
from us:
Micah 6:8 To act
justly, to love mercy, to walk humble with Him ~ & to rest.
Psalm 37:7 Rest in the
Lord and wait patiently for Him.
~Rest, means to abide
and continue…
~Continue… in times of
hardship, what does continue mean? - It is living moment by moment in the
Truths that He has taught, to ~Dwell in those truths – make my home, my life,
where He is.
For in those times
when it seems that all we have is ashes, we must remember the Truths of who He
says we are and what can come from those ashes:
Isaiah 61:3 (The
Message) He wants to give us garland (roses, beauty) instead of ashes, messages
of joy instead of languid spirit. He
will Rename them Oaks of Righteousness planted by God to display His Glory. They
will rebuild the old ruins & raise a new city out of the wreckage.
When I think of the
Oak tree it is a symbol of strength, beauty and durability. It is something
that when you look out across a field and see an Oak, standing tall and strong,
it has roots that go deep and it is made up of strong material. It remains through the storms. What a gift
that He lavishes upon us that we, through Him can be an Oak tree and used by
God to display His GLORY.
The
last few weeks have been oh so hard, yet` He Remains and because He Remains we
will too. & we will remain in Him for there is no better place to be.
Eph 4:6 He is over
all, through all and in all.
We
have a hope that doesn’t disappoint by remaining in Him. A hope in a God, who
doesn’t just take the ashes, but replaces them with life. A God that doesn’t
leave us helpless and alone, but instead claims us and renames us with the Truths
of who He says we are and a God who replaces our human inability & rebuilds
us with His strength and holds us in His hand, making us more than able.
~ He Remains ~
