Garment of Praise

. . . , 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.
                                                                                                                  Isaiah 61:3

Life certainly has its ups and downs because each day can bring pleasure, hardships, adventure, disappointments, and even tragedy. What we have planned for the day ahead may take twists and turns of which we have no control. But, if we know and walk with the Lord He can bring beauty out of the ashes of lost dreams. He can bring joy out of sorrow. He can help you find peace while struggling with adversity. These words seem like a dichotomy, but we are talking about a friend who sticks closer than a brother and is also the King of kings.

In this past Sunday School lesson we talked about the Beatitudes. Here Jesus is teaching His disciples a totally new way of thinking. Many of the Beatitudes seem like contradictions such as, "blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." As Christians we need to understand that we possess spiritual muscle during difficult times or during struggles with adversity. These are times when God creates depth in our lives. There's an old saying Arabic saying,  "Sun all the time creates a desert."
This means that if life is easy and without hardship a person has failed to develop depth in their being.

Today Gail visited Margaret at the Lenawee Medical Care Facility. For the past few weeks she has been struggling with her complete blindness. Last week she was quite distraught over this disability.
In Gail's conversation with her today, she reminded Margaret of the time Paul and Silas were in prison, which was probably very dark, as they were singing and praising God at midnight. Gail equated this story to Margaret that in her darkness she should be quick to get out her harmonica and praise the Lord in this way. She agreed that this would be much better than being downcast because of her condition. This truly is a way of putting on the garment praise for the spirit of heaviness and this is a great prescription for overcoming life's trials.

Blessings and Encouragement,

Paul, Gail, Patsy and Penny