Beauty for Ashes

One of my favorite Bible verses was the theme of a book by Deborah Raney that I just put down: In the Still of Night. In Isaiah 61:3, Jesus has been appointed to comfort all who mourn.. "To give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning and the garment of praise for the spirit of dispair" and the verse ends by saying that all this so that "God may be glorified." Yes, Jesus will comfort us out of our misery and replace all the bad with something beautiful and joyful. In this book, the couple has to deal with something almost statistically impossible that befalls them, and though it's not easy, they lay out all the options and do a remarkable job of letting God lead them to one good decision after another. Not that it's easy, but even in the difficult circumstances they grow closer to God and each other. And by the time we get to the end, everything has seemed to fallen in place. (OK, so it's fiction... but In the Still of Night is a good illustration of the magnitude of the goodness and all-knowingness of God.) May God be glorified!