The Divine Exchange

“to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.” - ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭61‬:‭3‬ ‭ESV‬‬

"Alexa, play O Come to the Altar by Elevation Worship  - Acoustic Version"

Life is such a mirage of decisions, good ones and bad ones, things you expect and things that blindside you. As fallible human beings, we have the ability to create beautiful experiences and terrible ones, even when we mean well.

And I think that is why the above scripture is so encouraging. Because it shows that there is always the space for the providence of God. That there is a resting place we can find in the knowledge and power of God that even when we have created ashes of situations in our lives, God is able to not only make them work together, but completely exchange the bad for good.

It’s not just that He will make something good from something bad, but that He could completely create a newness where there was nothing good to be found and then give it to us, if He so decides to. He is not a ‘let’s make the best of a bad situation’ God, but rather He is the ‘have no worry, this will work out for good’ God.

There is a Japanese art form, Kintsugi. It is a method that takes the broken or chipped parts of cherished vessels, glues them back together and paints the seams with gold or silver powder. It represents that beauty can be found even where damage was present and that beauty gives it a new life.

Beauty for Ashes.

It’s not that when we break a plate, He will leave us to figure it out, but that He, Our Father, puts His hand upon the mess and either decides to repair it, or He decides to replace it. What a kind Father - that He has many options, and makes all of them beautiful.

This is a restful, merciful, joy-creating revelation; that for the decisions that didn’t quite end up the way we thought it would, God has already formed a solution to bring forth beauty. That for the mourning that a decision or situation may have given, God is able to raise up gladness for you. That for the heaviness of regret and disappointment, God has prepared joy. Whether in light of the situation, or despite it - because whilst it might be out of your hands to repair, it will always be in the hands of God to restore.

Just breathe that in for a moment. The worst thing you think you have ever done, has already been known and understood by the merciful God. That you no longer have to dwell in the shame of regret, but rather give it to Him and allow Him to divinely exchange the bad for the good.

Stand up from the ashes of your mistake, and wear the headdress He made purely from beauty. Wipe the tears from your eyes and let God anoint you with oil of gladness. Take off the garment of heaviness you created, and allow God to dress you in the garment He custom made for you of praise.

The Spirit of the Lord is here, hovering over the face of the deep, ready and willing to create the beauty God has called forth for you, whatever it looks like, regardless of the void that was present beforehand.

Let the Lord be glorified; even in the difficult, disappointing and heartbreaking.

It is a Divine Exchange.