Isaiah 61:1-3

“To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

Have you found yourself bent beneath the weight of pain?  Are you suffering, or have suffered some hurt? Have you experienced some unpleasant situations? If so, then I have good news for you:” your pain is not wasted”!

I have often heard this phrase “your pain is not wasted”, and in most cases derived some temporary solace from this fact; I say “temporary” because, it’s easy to forget in the heat of the moment. Just recently I heard this phrase again while listening to a sermon, and it immediately struck a chord in my heart.

It feels good to know that our pains, hurts, ill experiences, etc., have not gone unnoticed by God. But a greater consolation comes from the fact that God is using these things as tools to work out a greater purpose in our lives, and in the lives of others.

When the Bible talks about “beauty for ashes”, the pains, hurts, ill experiences, etc. are the “ashes” that are necessary to perfect God’s beauty in us. It is a natural tendency to view this experiences as unpleasant and unwanted, but in God’s own design they are necessary, so that HIS beauty is expressively reflected in our nature!

Your pain is not wasted; it is working out for you a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory as the Bible says (2 Corinthians 4: 17).

May I encourage you to catch this insight; if you do, the things you go through will take on a new perspective!