“Comfort for the Weary Soul”
Hope for Dust and Ash!
Psalms 113:7 – (The Lord) raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap.
Dust and ash are substances without much value or hope. No one would expect anything good to come from it. It is unthinkable to convert dust or ash into anything useful. Dust and ash are forgotten and despised by all. Those who dwell in dust and on ash heap do not have any hope. They are a forgotten set of people, rejected, resented and devalued by all around. They are scattered around when wind or storms of circumstances and situations blow over it. No force on earth can bring it back to its original place. But God visits these dust and ash heaps to pick up the forgotten people to see what He can make out of their hopeless lives. The God of hope comes to those who dwell in dust and ash heap to give them hope for a bright future. They are told that there is no need for them to feel hopeless and continue to feel lost in the dust and ash of their cumbersome circumstances. God visits the poor and needy in their hopeless situations and cheers them up with a message of hope that He will give them a bright future. He alone can transform the lives of those who dwell in dust and ashes and make princes and princesses out of them. They are invited to come and become the children of the heavenly King. Their position, prospects and potential are changed when they accept God into their lives. Such transformation is unthinkable without God. When God looks at a person, He always sees what the future will hold for them rather than what transpired in their lives in the yesteryear.
A person’s usability to God doesn’t depend on his background or his past life, but on his willingness to submit to God to make him what God wants him to be. God can put hope in all unusable and written off lives through His enabling and equipping power. All whom God has used in the past have come from humble background. He fills only the empty vessels. He remolds and redesigns the ruined, broken and shapeless. He took David the forgotten shepherd boy and made a king out of him. He took a schemer like Jacob and made him prince with God. He took a heathen widow like Ruth and made her the great grandmother of Jesus. He took a bunch of ordinary fishermen and made great Apostles out of them to turn their world upside down. Yes, our God is the God of impossibilities. He brings water and even honey from the rock. In His compassion, He makes the poor to rise from the dust of ruin and meets the needs of those who are on the ash heaps of frustration. He knows all our needs and situations and meets those needs and lifts us up from the dunghills of life. He has enough resources to meet all our physical, financial, spiritual and emotional needs. He always responds to the needy and the poor who go to Him asking for help.
Dear friend, are you dwelling in dust and on ash heaps of frustration and hopelessness today? Are you feeling purposelessness in life in your hopeless situations? Have you been experiencing rejection and resentment from all around? Is there a wind of despondency and despair beating brutally against you? Are you afraid that some cruel winds of circumstances might blow on you and scatter you without any base or foundation? But today you have the privilege to meet the God of all circumstances and possibilities who turns the prospects of the most hopeless dust and ash dwellers into partners with God for accomplishing His purposes in this world and in the lives of others. God’s message comes to tell you that there is hope for you. You should not give up or quit, but should meet God who invites you to give you hope for tomorrow and to meet all your needs. He is bothered that you have been dwelling on the hopeless dust and ash because of your past experiences. But God is able to change your situation and make it useful for Him in this world. Remember, He sees your future if you entrust it with Him to remold. When we become His, our lives will be transformed with His power and enabling to accomplish what He equips us for. Then we become instruments in His hands to do what He wants us to do. There is no reason for us to become disillusioned because we are rejected and resented as dust and ash by those around us. Let our lives be given to God for His transforming work in us for His glory. He shows pity on us and our situation of dust and ash heap and will pick us up, clean us up and clothe us with His robe of dignity. He will carry us in His hands and keep us close to His heart. We can be rest assured that our God can change our situation and make us enjoy our position with Him in perfect fellowship, peace and joy. Let our prayer today be that God take hold of our lives and remold us to become instruments of His love and care.
Truth that challenges us to exercise our faith:
When God puts His power into dust and ash, it becomes a channel of blessings.
When God puts His power into dust and ash, it becomes a channel of blessings.
Truth to meditate upon
When we hand our lives of dust and ash over to God, He makes us living stones of splendor and grace for His glory.
