To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified."—Isaiah 61:2-3
Beloved...Our God is the Becoming One. He becomes for us whatever our need is. When Jesus comes into our heart, He brings all things with Him, and we find our all in Him. His sustaining grace gives us beauty for ashes, joy for mourning and praise for heaviness.
Philippians 2:1-4 from our OYB reading seems an appropriate exhortation here...Because or since there is consolation in Christ, because there is comfort of love, because there is fellowship of the Spirit, because there is affection and mercy, let us have the same love and the same mind toward others. Let us, like Jesus does, meet others at their point of need. Because He is our Becoming One, we can, by His Spirit that dwells inside us, put aside selfish ambition and conceit and put on humility...esteeming others as more important than ourselves.
We will outlive the sorrows of the world. Truly we can consider them light affliction compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. We can comfort others with the comfort that we ourselves have received from God.
