Beauty from Ashes

Recently, I read something fascinating about the lodgepole pine tree growing in the forests of the American West. Its cones are sealed tight with a resin so strong that no amount of rain can soften it. The wind can’t break it open. Even time itself won’t release what’s inside. The only thing powerful enough to open those cones is the intense heat of a wildfire.

After the flames pass through, the cones open, the seeds fall into the rich ash-filled soil, and a brand-new forest begins to grow. What seems like destruction is actually the beginning of new life. Out of ashes, a new forest takes root.

That’s how it is in your life. You carry seeds of potential inside of you—dreams, gifts, callings, things God has planted deep within your heart. But some of those seeds will never come out just by waiting. They won’t be released by comfort, ease, or time. Sometimes, it takes the fire.

You may feel like the fire in your life is going to destroy you — the challenges, the disappointments, the setbacks. But God wouldn’t allow the fire unless He had already put something inside you that can only come out through the fire. God allows the fire, not to burn you up, but to open you up.

Maybe today you’re walking through the flames of difficulty. You lost a loved one. The business didn’t work out. A relationship ended. And you’re thinking, “Lord, why did You let this fire touch my life?” But just like that lodgepole pine, there’s a seed inside of you that could never be released without this season. The heat is igniting something new.

Scripture reminds us of this truth in Isaiah 61:3: “beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.” Out of sorrow, God brings joy. Out of loss, He brings hope. Out of despair, He brings salvation.

So do not be discouraged when flames surround you. Don’t think it’s over because you’ve been through a hard season. Because when the flames die down and the smoke clears, you will see it: seeds of new life, seeds of hope, seeds of destiny growing in the soil of your surrender to God.