Verse from Isaiah

“为锡安悲哀的人穿上装饰，赐给他们华冠代替灰尘，喜乐油代替悲哀，赞美衣代替沮丧的灵，他们必称为公义的橡树，是耶和华栽种的，好使他自己得着荣耀。”

以赛亚书 61:3

“To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”

Isaiah 61:3

Though we live in a fallen world where we experience pain and disappointment, the Lord can move us from despair to rejoicing, as we see in Isaiah’s prophecy about the coming of Jesus (Isa. 61:1–3). The Lord gives us hope when we feel hopeless; He helps us to forgive when we think we can’t; He teaches us that our identity is in Him and not in what we do. He gives us courage to face an unknown future. When we wear the rags of “ashes,” He gently gives us a coat of praise.

When we face loss, we shouldn’t run from the sadness, but neither do we want to become bitter or hardened. When we think about God’s faithfulness over the years, we know that He’s willing and able to turn our grief to dancing once again—to give us sufficient grace in this life and full joy in heaven.

Father God, 

You turned Jesus’s pain on the cross into our best gift ever. 

Deepen my faith that I may welcome Your life-changing love into my life.

God can bring times of growth out of our times of heartache.