From Dust, Beauty Will Rise - Your Nightly Prayer - February 26th
From Dust, Beauty Will Rise
Your Nightly Prayer
by Rachel Wojo, Host of the Untangling Prayer podcast
TONIGHT'S SCRIPTURE
“To bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes.” - Isaiah 61:3
SOMETHING TO PONDER
Have you ever looked at the broken pieces of your life and wondered if anything beautiful could ever come from them? I can think of a few examples in my own life, like a relationship that crumbled, a dream that died, and especially a season of loss that left me feeling like everything turned to ash in your hands. When my daughter died, the dust of my heart lay in deep sorrow.
Years ago, I wrote a letter to my daughter Taylor after she went to be with Jesus. In those early months of grief, I struggled to understand how anything beautiful could come from the ashes of my broken heart. But as I leaned into Scripture, I remembered that just as the God of heaven scooped into the dust of the ground to sculpt a human body and breathed into it a living spirit and soul, so does He scoop up the ashes, the fragmented remains of my heart, and begin to fashion them into something new.
In Taylor’s suffering, I learned something I’d spent most of my life avoiding. I’d always run from pain, hidden from affliction, pretended distress wasn’t there, even when it stared back at me. But in those December days when disease was taking over her body, God’s Spirit felt closer than I’d ever experienced. Since she left for heaven, I’ve had deep heart discussions with Him. We’ve argued, laughed, and cried together. He’s comforted and encouraged in ways I never knew possible. The ashes of my grief became sacred ground where God met me.
The imagery in Isaiah 61:3 is quite eye-opening. In ancient Jewish culture, people would sit in ashes as a sign of mourning and devastation. Ashes represented the end of something, what remained after everything valuable had burned away. But God promises to exchange those ashes for a “crown of beauty.” A crown is something precious, honored, and displayed.
God doesn’t give us a minor consolation prize for our pain. He is after a complete transformation of our hearts. He takes what looks dead and finished and creates something more beautiful than what existed before. Thankfully, He doesn’t ask us to clean ourselves up first. He doesn’t require us to gather all our broken pieces and try to glue them back together before He works with us. He meets us right there in the ashes. He comes close when we’re covered in the dust of what used to be and when we can’t see past our grief. You’re never too damaged for redemption.
Have you ever heard of the Japanese art of kintsugi? It’s the practice of repairing broken pottery with gold. Instead of hiding the cracks, the brokenness becomes part of the beauty. The crazy thing about this art is that the repaired vessel is often more valuable than the original because the gold-filled seams tell a story of restoration. That’s what God does with our lives. He doesn’t erase our stories of pain. He doesn’t pretend the breaking never happened. Instead, He fills those broken places with His presence. His purpose and redemptive work reveal who He longs for us to be. And somehow, mysteriously, we become more beautiful for having been broken and restored.
Are you sitting in your own ashes tonight? Maybe you can’t imagine how God could bring anything good from what you’re walking through. I’ve been there. I’m so thankful that God’s redemptive work doesn’t depend on our ability to see it coming. It depends on His faithfulness, His creativity, and His relentless love, which refuse to let our stories end in ruin.
The same God who spoke the world into existence can bring life from a barren womb. The God who raised His Son from a tomb specializes in bringing beauty from dust; isn’t that amazing? I’ve seen Him do it, and He’s still in the miracle-working business. He’ll do it again. He’s already begun that work in you, even if you can’t see it yet. Ask Him for a glimpse into His vision tonight.
Will you pray with me?
YOUR NIGHLY PRAYER
Father,
I come to You tonight carrying what feels like ashes. There are the remains of dreams, relationships, and seasons that didn’t turn out the way I hoped. I confess that sometimes I can’t see how anything beautiful could come from the pain. But You promise beauty for ashes, and I’m choosing to trust Your word over what I can see.
Thank You that You don’t wait for me to have it all together before You begin Your redemptive work. Thank you for meeting me right here. While I’m sitting in the dust and brokenness, you see beauty.
Do what only You can do, Lord. Take these broken pieces of my life and create something that reflects Your glory. Bring my story of restoration to the point of encouraging someone else who’s sitting in their own ashes tonight. Help me to trust Your timing, Your process, and Your promise that from dust, beauty will rise.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
THREE THINGS TO MEDITATE UPON
1. Something Beautiful: Think about a time when something in your life felt completely broken, but looking back now, you can see how God used it. Did you learn compassion from a painful season? Was it a circumstance loss that deepened your faith or a failure that redirected your path? That transformation didn't happen by accident! God was working beauty from those ashes all along.
2. Sacred Scars: Consider something difficult you've walked through that still leaves a mark on your heart. What if those scars aren't signs of damage, but evidence of God's redemptive work? Just like the cracks in kintsugi pottery filled with gold, your broken places might be exactly where God's glory shines brightest in your story.
3. Small Signs of New Life: Look around your current season, even if it feels like sitting in ashes. Is there one tiny sign of hope? A moment of unexpected peace? A person who showed up when you needed them? These small evidences of God's presence are often the first signs that He's already begun creating something beautiful in the ruins.
As you close your eyes tonight, remember this: God doesn't waste your pain. He redeems it. The beauty is coming, even when all you see are ashes. Your broken places are exactly where His glory will shine brightest.
Reflect on tonight’s prayer and share how God met you there. Join the Your Nightly Prayer discussion on the Crosswalk Forum.
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/Pattadis Walarput
If you enjoy Rachel’s prayers, you’ll appreciate the beautiful prayer card set, 31 Days of Prayers for the Heart. Enjoy and display Rachel Wojo's beautiful 31-day prayer card collection that includes A Morning Prayer, A Prayer for the Moment, and more! Easily place your favorite on display or transition through the set using one each day for a month. All cards securely rest in the display stand. This set includes 5x7 cards on sturdy 100 lb cardstock, beautiful, smooth professional print, and a handcrafted wooden display stand to hold all cards.
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