Devotional Monday: Crown of Beauty

Isaiah 61:3 says: "And provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,the oil of joy, 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."

Last week I talked about how beauty is found in dwelling with God, and how beauty can be found in making him our dwelling place. So today I am going to talk about how God gives each and every one of us a "crown of beauty" and with that crown he makes us into "oaks of righteousness" just as Isaiah 61:3 says. He equips us with the crown so that we can stand firm in knowing that despite the things that the world tells us we should do, or the comments from others, or the things we are going through, he is preparing us for the beauty that is to come in his plans for us.  

So this past June, my uncle died of a ALS which is a terminal disease and it was hard, I must admit. But as the weeks go by, I've come to see the beauty that he brought into my life and the lives of others. He was always helping someone/doing things for others, and with that he never asked anything in return. Each day, he lived with beauty, because he never took what God provided for him for granted, he stood firm in his faith and despite what he was going through with ALS,  he continued to see every day as a  gift from God. And to me that embodies what Isaiah 61:3 is telling us, despite his health he always wore that crown of beauty that God tells us about in this verse. He was by no means perfect, but he always saw life as beautiful despite his circumstances. To me sisters, that's real beauty. Not what you see on a magazine cover, but what you find in  the heart of people that are in your family or your friends, or someone in the grocery store. 

So with that, we must remember that despite our circumstances or the fact that most days we may be a "hot mess", God uses those things to show us the real beauty that is found in walking daily with him as he molds us into oaks of righteousness for his kingdom. Whatever you may be going through don't forget to find the beauty in the darkness and always reach for the crown of beauty that God provides for us each and every day.