You have come to bind up the brokenhearted, to comfort all who mourn, to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes...
Lord, I am covered in ashes. Years of ashes are all around me. Years of heartbreak, confusion, distress. Can you take this and give me beauty? Will I see you make beauty of this?
You give the oil of gladness instead of mourning...
I have no more tears to cry. The years past have been saturated with them, and they refuse to come now when I call. Will you wet my eyes with the oil of your gladness?
You give a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair...
It feels natural to get lost in the thought that things will never get better, that things will always be as they have always been. Will you clothe me in praise that I may look beyond myself and see you?
They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor...
I feel more like a fallen branch, a fragment of something bigger, more solid. Something there to be stepped on, not marveled at. Yet, I trust that I am planted firmly in you. I trust that you are growing me, nourishing me, quenching my thirst. May I be a display of your splendor?
They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations...
I am not quite ready to get to the work of rebuilding what has been devastated for so long, but with your help, I know I will be. Would you guide my heart and my hands? May they not work apart from you.
Everlasting joy will be theirs...
I wait...my heart is open...fill me to overflowing...with joy everlasting.
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