Does it ever feel like your dreams have been set on fire and reduced into a scorched pile of ashes?
There is good news – You are not alone. High above my fireplace mantle (how appropriate) hangs a wooden, primitive picture which bares the words of one of my very favorite Bible verses.
“He gave me beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.”
Isaiah 61:3
During that time, I had allowed fear and unhealthy relationships to rule my life. After several years of enormous amounts of emotional pain and stress, my body pretty much said, “enough”, and started to slowly shut down. I had lost so much – and the biggest loss was the hope of ever having a happy, normal life.
Wow. The enemy sure knows how to bait us with his lies doesn’t he? He is aware of the blessings and amazing plan that God has in store for us and does his best to ruin it. He throws out a bunch of lies and hopes that we’ll fall for them, which I did. But God had a different plan for me – so I’m here today to tell you “the rest of the story”.
At the lowest point, I remember hearing the enemy say that he wanted to take my life.
And as these words echoed in my ear, I grabbed my Bible and randomly opened it. A small stream of light fell on the following verse, “I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.” Ps 118:17. I kid you not, when I read that, a virtual *SPARK* lit up inside the center of my body, right there in the pit of my stomach.
At that very moment, I got up off the floor and walked out of that den to tell my mom that I heard from God and knew the next steps I needed to make.
Over the many years that followed, I watched God gently pick up the various piles of dead ashes of my life and breathe His life back into them. Those broken, devastated, and grief stricken moments were miraculously transformed into life-giving messages that now ebb with hope, joy, and laughter each and every day to hundreds of thousands of people on the radio. He truly makes all things work together for good to those who love Him.
Thinking back to those times helps me remember that with God, nothing is impossible and no matter how dead something looks, with Him, there is always hope (the confident expectation of good).
Remember…YOU are So Loved!
