Beauty for Ashes

I was reading in Isaiah during the Sabbath hours and I was impressed by the first verses of chapter 61. It seems pretty clear that we have been given a commission to go and help other more unfortunate people and exchange their heavy spirits for praise, their mourning for joy, and the ashes of their ruined lives for beauty. One Bible version actually says, "Give them bouquets of roses for their ashes". Obviously, we must be anointed with God's Spirit to be able to do this and in fact He is the one who will do the work through us.

Can you think of more brokenhearted and bound captives than the orphans of our land? When you think of children, particularly older foster children, doesn't their brokenheartedness come to mind? Aren't they bound by fear and trauma, captives of circumstances and their parent's poor choices and totally in need of comforting? What a blessing it would be to exchange their ashes for beauty, their mourning for the oil of joy, their heavy hearts for ones of praise, and to train up these broken little twigs to become trees of righteousness.

The good tidings is that Jesus loves each one of these little children and He is able to make good come out of the mess that miserable humans have inflicted upon their lives.

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
ISAIAH 61:13