"I found the cabinet I've been looking for!" my friend Sheryl exclaimed to me a few days ago." And guess what? It even has a light in it!" Today I rode with her to a furniture store to pick up her new curio cabinet, a place to display her Precious Moments figurines and various items of beauty and value that she owns.
What does a person display? That which he is wants to hide? Commonplace items? No. He displays that which is precious to him: pictures, heirlooms, objects of meaning, items of value. Look in a person's curio cabinet, and you can find out more about what he values.
In a jewelry store beautiful gems and metals are displayed on blackdrops of black velvet with just the right light shining on them so beautifully that their splendor is brilliantly displayed.
I read in Isaiah that as we trade our ashes for beauty, our mourning for gladness, and our despair for praise, we then display the splendor of God.
Somehow -- and I do mean somehow because it remains a mystery to me -- as we trade the ickiness of our lives for all that God offers us, we become a display of how amazing He is. God puts me on display to show the world His goodness, power, beauty and love. Against the backdrop of the darker times in my life but sitting in the light of Who He is, His glory is revealed.
As He shows Himself to me, He then shows Himself through me. His glory is a revealing of Himself. To me. Through me.
To be cherished by God. Precious to Him. Reflective of Him. Even a way to point others to Him. It's all so curious to me.
Lord, Thank you for the beautiful exchange you offer! My ashes for a crown of beauty, my mourning for Your gladness, my utter despair for Your praise! And the result of it all, bringing You glory. That You would bless me and use me in such a way is so beyond me. Nowhere-near-ordinary You, God, can take what is common and make it into something splendid. Keep doing that in my life as I keep seeking You. I will keep looking to You so that any beauty I display is a reflection of Your magnificence and not something I try to create on my own.
"... and provide for those who grieve in Zion-- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor." Isa 61:3(b), NIV
2 comments:
I appreciated your description about our curio shopping. I can't describe what an enlightening statement it was to hear you describe how God uses the dark times of our lives to DISPLAY his majesty and glory. Beautiful description and makes it definitely more bearable to have those dark times. Keep blogging.
yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
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