To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory.”
Isaiah 61:3
In the scripture above God is talking to His people and is making them a promise. The promise that He is making is about His redemptive and restoration power. Somethings can take longer than others to refine or redeem, but God can bring any darkness and restore into His glory. I believe that God uses certain situations to help us grow through our own personal stuff we might be carrying around. In my experience I can see how much God has been there for me and restored certain pains in my life that carried too much weight. Overtime of me trusting in the Lord I’ve seen God restore those areas of my life. However it didn’t happen overnight.
It’s important to take a step back sometimes and look at how far you’ve come, but also if you’re not where you want to be, what’s next? Ask the Lord and He will always help you and guide you. On that note, did you know it can take 20-30 years for a tree to fully develop? In the scripture above, Isaiah says “in their righteousness they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for His own glory.” That is a promise that He made to His people during that time, but also, to us. Sometimes we are just in the beginning stages of being planted and it can take time for God to fully restore us into His righteousness but it happens. So whatever you may be currently facing in your life… maybe you’re in a high and that’s great! Be grateful, but if it’s a low or a hard place just know it’s not forever. Life is always changing and moving and there will always be highs and lows that’s a fact, but how much better is it that we have a God who knows that and cares and is doing life with us every step of the way?
I would call that a blessing.
God bless you friends, may you take this scripture and remember it whenever you feel like you’re in the gutter. God always has your back and is always with us. We can trust Him.
Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life 