Verse of the Day


"To provide for those who mourn in Zion; to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, festive oil instead of mourning, and splendid clothes instead of despair. And they will be called righteous trees, planted by the LORD to glorify Him."

~Isaiah 61:3


Today's Devotional Thought

April 20, 2015 by Rachel Piferi



image



Redeemed

There are certain songs that can just bring me to my knees. And this morning, I want to share one of those songs that just touches my soul like none other. Right now, as I write this, it is actually Sunday night, and the house is quiet after a very full weekend. My spirit is settling from a weekend full of inexplicable highs and some quiet lows. And as I spend some time with the Lord before I say goodnight on this Sunday, I have my earbuds in and my favorite books of the Bible open. And as I listen to some of my favorite songs and I linger a moment in my favorite verses, I am so overwhelmed with the sweetness of the Lord's love, grace, and everlasting presence in my days, my years, and my life.

And I am just overcome right now by his redemption. From his simple redemption of a day that starts poorly to his redemption of one of my bad decisions to his redemption of my soul.

Like each of you, I have moments in my life that make my heart rejoice with the victories and successes found in them. And, I also have moments where no victory was evident at first and honestly, that were so full of sadness & defeat. Things that hurt, year after year, and that had no clear sign of how they would ever turn around.

And yet, they did. Often, in the most unexpected ways. Not that the situation themselves turned around, but rather that the Lord used the devastation, used the hurt, used the pain to grow something beautiful that could be used later.

Sometimes, that beautiful redemption came in growth in my character that came from walking through a painful season. Sometimes, that beautiful redemption came in giving me an experience that I could share with a person I would meet later who would need to hear from someone who had been there that she would survive. Sometimes, the beautiful redemption came in the form of noticing the Lord through quiet moments of grace and love and growing in my love for him and awareness of his love for me (even though the situation never changed).

And every time, I have learned that if I just kept laying those broken things before the Lord, kept listening to his voice, and kept pressing on, that great redemption can always be experienced in the painful things of life. Maybe not in the way that I wanted or even expected, but something good always has come from bad when I gave them to the Lord.

I think that is why I adore the song below. Because it speaks of that redemption. It speaks of those things in life that are shattered, those things that hurt, those things that have wounded us so deep.

Those things that the Lord can use for good.

Those things that the Lord can teach us through.

Those things that the Lord can help us grow in and reach others through.

Those ugly things that the Lord can make beautiful by covering them with his grace and growing something beautiful out of the fertile soil of disappointment, un-fulfillment, shame, or pain.

Life breaks and falls apart. More often than we may like. But those places where life has broken are the very places that God's grace shows up and redeems. And through his love and grace, the Lord brings such beauty from the ashes.

If you let him. If you ask him to show you. If you lay them before him and ask him what you can learn or what you can do with them.

And of all of the good that he can bring from bad days, bad experiences, or bad seasons, the best thing he brings is a deeper realization of him and who he is. Oh how I have grown to know him and love him more though the deep valleys of life.

Sweet friends, if you are going through something now that needs to be redeemed, please know that beautiful things can come from the most shattered pieces of life. Nothing is so bad that the Lord cannot redeem it & use it for good. Walk towards that redemption today. Let him redeem your most painful days, moments, and seasons and watch him create something beautiful from the ashes.





Memorize this verse today:

"To provide for those who mourn in Zion; to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, festive oil instead of mourning, and splendid clothes instead of despair. And they will be called righteous trees, planted by the LORD to glorify Him."
~Isaiah 61:3



Copyright 2019 © After the Miracle. All rights reserved.
    |         |     Partners Links