Breaking Free - Week 6

The Beth Moore study I am doing has been so good for me concerning dealing with things from my past and has been so good as I am walking through different feelings, emotions, past struggles, current struggles, and relationships. She has experienced some of the same things I have which has been so nice to see how the Lord uses her in the lives of so many people. I pray that the Lord will be able to use me in the lives of others someday!

I did the audio part of week 6 (beauty instead of ashes) 2 nights ago and there were some real thought provoking things that I desire to meditate on that she mentioned. There was an illustration she gave about a child who wounds itself and is cut and bleeding and the natural instinct for the child is to cover it up and protect it even from the mom who is trying to clean it and help it start healing. We tend to do the same thing with Christ she was saying in that sometimes we cover our wounds and won’t let the Lord start healing it and ultimately the wound gets infected and that is when we develop strongholds. That rings so true for me only because I saw it happen in my life. I am so thankful to have a God who has helped me to overcome the strongholds that have entered into my life. At times it seemed like it would never get better but I am here to say that it did! Christ did it for me and in me. Isaiah 61:1-4 has been the focus of this study and in this particular week it is verse 3. I want to share these verses with you and though verse 3 seems so overwhelming for me I am so encouraged and feel so loved by the God I serve and desire to trust Him and the promises He has made through His word:

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations." ~Isaiah 61:1-4

Some of the points that she made which were good for me are:

“God never allows or appoints the fire unless He can bring beauty from the ashes”

“Whatever the reason, the purpose of refinement is always to make us objects/vessels of beauty”

“Sometimes our fiery trials are absolutely necessary to fulfill our callings”

“The ultimate goal of the Refiner is to see His reflection in the precious medal”

She had also mentioned how we can’t refuse what the Lord allows but we can refuse to be refined by it. Beauty comes out of the refining so if it is refused it can never fully be used for God’s glory and His good. I just don’t want to be one who refuses the Lord to work from the ashes yet it so hard to go through it. My prayer is that the Lord will bring beauty from my ashes and that He will do the same for all of you too.