Isaiah 61:1-3

"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."
Isaiah 61:1-3


I love Isaiah.  I hope I get to meet him someday. :)  Yesterday we talked about the second coming... and today as well.  No islands fleeing or lost mountains today... but "beauty for ashes."  How amazingly cool is that?  Even in the midst of all that will be happening in the last days, God proclaims liberty, and opening of the prison... and comfort, and beauty, and joy.  The part about becoming trees of righteousness is cool too... lots of great symbolism. :)  It is amazing to me, that in the midst of all the chaos... both externally and internally... that the Lord can step in and create utter peace.  That is why Christ lived and died, but it still seems overwhelmingly amazing.  Even from the ashes of the destruction at the Second Coming, the Lord can show us beauty... make us beautiful.  Reminds me of Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis where a woman who has been ugly all her life is made beautiful... and also the story of the Phoenix, the bird that is born from the ashes...  Even when we, with our limited perspective, see only hopelessness, God can offer hope.  He can turn mourning into joy... and provide comfort even to those that seem inconsolable.  He has an answer for even the hardest questions, and a way to piece together even the most broken and ravaged of hearts... he *is* God, after all. :)  Today, let's be trees of righteousness... reaching up to God while granting shade and comfort to everything around us. :)