by Diana Ramirez

Dear friend,

Today you may be sitting there hurt, confused, disappointed and heartbroken. You can’t seem to wrap your head around why a difficult situation happened. You know God is there and you have heard all these positive things people say but you can’t help but sit there and wonder: Why? You may even feel guilty about questioning God since people have told you how you should have faith.

Let me tell you, it’s okay to ask God why. It is okay to tell Him exactly how you feel and let Him in your heart and mind. He already knows what is bothering you but He can’t help you if you don’t ask Him to help you. See, we have to surrender all the feelings we have even if we think they are bad.

Imagine someone you love putting something poisonous in their mouth. The first thing you would want to do is go and take it from them but if they refuse to open their mouth and run away from you, how can you help them? That’s exactly what we do with God. We want Him to help us but we aren’t willing to give Him everything that is bothering or hurting us. We tend to think that holding on to the pain, heartache, bitterness or anger will somehow help us. But it won’t. It will just harm us more.

But God is there with open arms waiting for you to run to Him so He can help you. He loves you more than you know and
there is nothing you could do that would take that love away from Him! Being hurt peopel, we think of things and only see them in black and white. We see the ashes that surround us of broken dreams, relationships, ministries, friendships and think how could anything good or beautiful come out of this? We tend to focus on the hurt and the brokenness and seem to forget that God promised us He would make beauty out of ashes.

When you think of black ashes you do think nothing good could come out of it. But may I remind you that when things burn down that is a chance to rebuild and grow something new. If we let God into those places where we hurt, He can take that pain and build something beautiful from it. Something you cannot imagine. He breathes His life into it and little by little those black ashes start changing and turning into color. They become the most vibrant colors you have seen and they just pop off the page. You look in wonder thinking how you have never seen anything that beautiful. The picture emerges and it is breathtaking. Then you come to realize that picture is your life.

That some things burned in order for better things to come. That had you stayed where and with who you thought you needed to be with, you would have never experienced or seen these colors. It brings life into you and you realize that it took all that you went through in order for you to be where you are now.

Dear friends, holding onto those ashes won’t get you to your destiny. And even though it hurts right now, I can assure you it won’t always be that way. The pain and anguish won’t linger there unless you let it. Let God take the reins and let Him paint the picture He has for you with those vibrant colors only He can make. Let it out to God and then let it go. Let Him create the beauty from the ashes He has promised you He would make. Once you surrender it to Him you will feel like you are living for the first time. Everything will be new and you will feel refreshed and not so bogged down. You will see
everything with new eyes and a new mind.

Next time you want to sit there and think beauty can’t be made from ashes, remember how God will breathe into your situation and make that beautiful portrait out of those ashes. Remember how His plans are bigger and better than anything you can think of!

You are loved and everything will work out according to His plan. Surrender those ashes, my friend, and let the Master paint the most beautiful, breathtaking portrait of the life He has for you. Let the newness of this season come forth. You are in my prayers. Let go of the old and let Him usher in the new.

Much love,

The Christian Blogger