"... and provide for those who grieve in Zion to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor." Isaiah 61:3
God has been bringing this scripture to my mind over and over the last couple of weeks. Interestingly enough, I inadvertantly memorized it, and I usually have a TERRIBLE time memorizing scripture even when I try. Have you ever felt like God is giving you a Word, a promise, to hang on to because He knows you'll need it? The part about "being oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor" has permeated my very soul this week as I take a huge step of faith in becoming that oak of righteousness. God has been leading me and preparing me for years to work in some form or fashion with survivors of sexual abuse, and I have recently felt lead to discuss the possibility of starting a ministry to this end in my church. Don't know if church is ultimately the place for this, but it's a place to start investigating, as it has potential.
See, here's the deal. God doesn't allow us to go through a bunch of crap (for lack of a better word)and come out the other end in one piece so that we can simply be grateful. We are meant to be growing plants of the mercy and grace - His mercy and grace - that He bestowed upon us in our time of greatest need (Is. 61:3). "Growing" implies action. We can't be the "oaks of righteousness" God wants us to be if we refuse to let Him grow us into them. It can be scary, as often times it means we leave our comfort zones and step up for God in ways only possible with His help. For those of us with unstable childhoods, leaving our comfort zone is the LAST thing we want to do. It took us SO LONG to find our comfort zones that, now that we are finally comfy, we want to stay that way. But leave them we must. We have a story to tell with a terrible beginning but with a glorious ending that the whole world needs to hear! If He gave us "beauty for ashes", He will do it for anyone who calls on His name. People need to know that incredible news! And who better to tell them than one who has walked a mile in their shoes. I challenge you today, are you allowing God to do all He can through you to bring others to Him?
