Very often, the will of God for your life is not what you expected it to be. Though you may have made an incredible mess of things in the past, God knew where you were going. You may have gone the wrong way, but He knew what you would choose, the good and the bad. He also knew that you would eventually run back to Him, and He would heal you. Did you know, He is in the business of turning ashes into beauty, death into life, and a burnt-down life into something beautiful for His glory?
O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know, when I sit down and when I rise up, you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. Psalm 139:1-6
He has a divine plan and purpose for everything that has happened in your life. He has used each of them in such a way to form you into His new creation. The way He always intended you to be, strong, vibrant, faithful, and secure in the Lord.
Without the crushing and the burning down of your old self, you would not have been like Him. Your old shelf had to die so He could regrow you into His beautiful creation. He designed you to fulfill His will and seek God’s kingdom.
Isn’t He so amazing? To turn your pain into glory, regret into redemption, and redirect your trajectory upon this earth to change people’s lives for all eternity. He has given you the privilege, through the power of Jesus Christ, to turn the broken from death to life. He created you to shine the light of His Gospel that eyes may see and ears hear.
What a testimony of the power and love of God. Through the Spirit of Jesus Christ. You, too, can reach out to lost souls and restore them to new life in Jesus Christ. Without Him and His loving, merciful, and mighty hand, we could have done nothing.
I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” Psalm 16:2
Now no longer will you be weak, small, and held back from the purpose He has prepared for you. But you will go out in the power and might of the Spirit of the Lord and will fight for what is right. You will save the lost, broken, and weary from this wicked and twisted generation.
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn; 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 61:1-3
So hold your head up high and walk in His righteousness. Straighten yourself and strengthen your faith and confidence in your God. Fix your eyes upon Jesus and the path He has prepared before you. Accept His correction as kindness. Let Him change you into exactly what He has designed you to be. Then walk with complete confidence and assurance that He will fulfill your life all according to His perfect plan.
Your scars will be your testimony. Your story will declare that God can renew and restore those who thought they were lost forever. In His time, He will restore beauty from ashes and breathe new life into those dead.
The Soul Sower 