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“God wants to give us beauty for ashes but we must be willing to give up our ashes.” Unknown
Yesterday I attended my very first Ash Wednesday Service at a local Methodist Church in my area. Growing up as a Southern Baptist, we never really had an Ash Wednesday anything. As this last year has been particularly challenging in my family, with children deployed, a husband with health struggles and of course the world that has taken leave of its wits, I thought, I need to go to cover all the bases this year. The service was absolutely beautiful, I found myself really finding rest in the act of repentance and ashes. After the service, a few thoughts came to mind that I would like to share with you all in hopes that this will indeed bless you during the observance of Lent.
Much like days of old there were plenty of ashes to go around
In the book of Isaiah, the Israelites were literally sitting in ashes both in the Northern and Southern kingdoms. Sin and idolatry had become rampant. Children were sacrificed, each and every sin was being committed and as God had warned, they had suffered the consequences of their sin. His holiness demanded a recompense. In the Northern Kingdom, the Assyrians conquered and killed the people of God, and in the Southern Kingdom, the Babylonians had a bloody conquest. They bloodied and beaten Israelites were sifting through ashes to find a glimmer of hope.
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God’s love is immense
Because of God’s immeasurable love, he sent a message of hope to His children. Isaiah 61: The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 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.
The ashes of our lives can become beautiful as we yield to God
In the Scripture, ashes symbolized mourning, tragedy and loss. When an intense loss occurred, the people would cover themselves in sack cloth and ashes to commemorate deep sorrow. The ashes were a tangible sign of devastation, hopelessness and destruction beyond repair. Dear ones, this is us, we are ashes without Jesus and His sacrifice. We will continue in the same spiral of sin and destruction that has played over and over the course of history without His love. In the service yesterday I realized God wants to give us a divine exchange of the ashes of our sin.
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What is a divine exchange?
The word exchange is the act of giving one thing in exchange for another. To part with a substitute. Our grief, anger, sin, past hurt and pride of life are a meager substitute for what God desires to give to us. As we look around the world at the moment, what do we see? We see people grasping for hope such as never before. There are so many remedies to “fix” our pain yet it seems within a short amount of time we are broken again and again. Why is that? Because we can’t fix ourselves, we must do as the Apostle Paul challenged us in I Corinthians: My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
During lent give our ashes to God and let Him create beauty
God’s grace is all we need. His lovingkindness is always available to you regardless of the situation. That is not a license to sin, rather it is an acknowledgement that His grace is powerful and will not only cleanse our sin but change us from within.
God’s power is most perfected in our weakness– when Paul says he boasts in his weakness he meant that he knew he could not fix his struggles, he had to realize that he must come to God continually and give it the struggle to Father God.
The notion that we are perfect as we are is deeply flawed. You’ve heard the song, “You’re perfect just as you are.” No, dear ones, we are not. To say that we are not in need of a savior as we are perfect? This negates Jesus’ sacrifice. Before you think, “Yeah but it’s just a song!” Yes, but music is a message, a form of worship if you will. If I constantly sing that I’m perfect just as I am I will inevitably set myself up for failure. Our pride is not in ourselves, our hope is in Christ.
His beauty lasts forever and ours fades
In this time of reflection, let us emphasize Christ’s sufficiency in our weakness. Let us make a divine exchange with Him to rely on His promises in a world rife with sin. Let the ashes of the cross produce a beautiful soul servant of God not just during Lent but throughout the rest of our lives. I leave you with a prayer that I wrote after the service yesterday.
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A prayer for Lent
In the ashes of my sin, please Lord give me strength. Let Your Word cleanse and purge my life from all of my sin. Let my thorns in the flesh be given to You, may my strength fade and Yours come through. Let my attitude be that of My King, My Jesus, the Lord of everything. I pray that each day I will seek Your face. I thank you for the cross and Your immeasurable grace. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be always with You. May I look to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of my faith, I ask Father to make a divine exchange. I give you my ashes for beauty, the oil of joy for mourning. I ask God that Your Word will change me from the inside out, so that my life will be a reflection of You day in and day out. Amen
