Beauty from Ashes by Rohini George
Scars reminds us of wound, pain, hurt or imperfection. When we are hurt physically, it bleeds and a scab is formed which eventually forms a scar. Physical scars can be seen and we can witness it healing. But emotional scars cannot be seen and can only be felt by the one who has gotten hurt. We can’t watch it physically healing, yet these scars are there for a purpose.
Isaiah 61:3, provides a promise of a crown of beauty instead of ashes, oil of joy instead of mourning and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. The word of God gives a hope of a purpose for our scars and beauty for our ashes. We can see this coming true in the lives of two women in the bible – Hagar and Elizabeth.
Hagar was an Egyptian slave. She became of part of Abraham’s household because of the lie he told Pharaoh that Sarah was his sister. When the Pharaoh realized that Sarah was Abraham’s wife, he gave her back to him along with Hagar. Hagar was taken away from her home, Egypt with Abraham and Sarah. Her journey to her trials starts here.
Hagar – the ultimate surrogate mother
In Genesis 16, Sarah is choosing Hagar to have a child with her husband. Hagar, a young woman was told to sleep with her master, an old man. If we think in the perspective of a young woman this seems gross. Once she conceived, Hagar became proud and despised her mistress. This lead to Sarah gossiping and ill-treating her with Abraham’s silent consent. So much so that Hagar fled from there.
Are we sometimes like Abraham and Sarah? Do we gossip or ill-treat people and drive them away from us?
Hagar in Shur, meets with the angel of the Lord. The beauty of her miserable state was that she was able to meet God. There the angel spoke with her and promises her descendants too numerous to count. She is asked to go back to Sarah. The same place where she was ill-treated, back to her adversity. She was so close to her home Egypt, still she was submissive and obedient to God that she goes back to her trial. Hagar obeyed her master’s God. She trusted in God and was ready to go back to her trial.
Will we choose to stay in our trial when God asks us to or are we constantly trying to run away from it?
Hagar – the ultimate single mom
In Genesis 21, Sarah gives birth to Isaac, the promised child. This could have made Hagar insecure because instead of her son Ishmael, Isaac is going to be heir to Abraham. And he would be considered superior than his son. After all Ishmael was the son from a slave woman. Sarah wanted Hagar and Ishmael to be sent off because Ishmael was found mocking Isaac. Abraham was distressed over what was happening but God assured him the well-being of the mother and the child along with the promise of making Ishmael into a great nation. In all this again Hagar was rejected. In the desert when the food and water they had, got over, Ishmael went weak and was nearly dying. She turned her face away from her son so that she won’t see him die. All she could do was cry. Her season of trials and distress seemed never ending. She must have been tired of the season. But in the middle of her ashes Hagar meets with God again. There God reinstated his promise with her of making Ishmael into a great nation. They did not die but lived. And also Ishmael – the slave’s son received gifts from Abraham before he died.
Sometimes we feel that our season of pain is never ending. We feel tired waiting for a better season. At times it feels like we are rejected over and over again like Hagar was rejected. During our trials it feels like we are in a dry desert pushing ourselves through the heat. But be encouraged that God chooses to meet us in our desert. And there is a purpose for our ashes. Your rejection in one season can take you to your destiny in the next.
Elizabeth – woman of faith
Elizabeth was a righteous woman, wife of the high priest but could not conceive a child. She was barren. Even though she walked uprightly before the Lord, she must have been disgraced among the people as she was barren. Her season of disgrace continued till her old age. As promised to Zachariah by the angel of God, Elizabeth in her old age conceived and that brought great joy to her. She had a grateful heart towards God. Her disgrace was taken away by God. Jesus, the Son of God meets with her in her ashes through Mary, from her womb. When Mary, a young virgin girl is pregnant and comes to meet Elizabeth, she do not judge her but she was able to discern that Jesus was there in Mary’s womb. She called Mary “Blessed”. She believed that Mary was doing God’s will. She encouraged her. Elizabeth was a woman of encouragement.
How quick are we to judge people? Our job is to encourage people out of sin and not to judge them for their trials.
Though the seasons of trial is shorter for some and longer for another, God has a purpose for all the trials. The beauty of all our trials is that God meets us right in the midst of our trials. Our attitude in these trials are also important. Are we obedient and submissive like Hagar? Are we encouraging like Elizabeth? Trials often leads to burning and it may leave us only with ashes. The only use that ashes have is that it helps in forming rose buds. Beautiful rose buds that grow on to become beautiful roses. There is a purpose for our trials and there is beauty for our ashes.
Reflection by Susan Paul