I was praying for a friend this past weekend, and as I did, I began to speak these words over her: Father, give her beauty for ashes, just as Your word promises. Immediately, the Lord spoke to me and said, “You can’t have beauty without ashes, and you can’t have ashes without fire.”
These words stopped me in my tracks as I realized we often want the beauty without the ashes, and according to the word of God, that is simply not possible.
“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.” (Is. 61:3)
The word beauty means that He will beautify us with His glory. He will place His glory upon us. However, that comes after the ashes, not before.
1 John 1:8-9 says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
We all have things in us that need to be purified, and if we think we don’t, we are fooling ourselves. There is only one way to remove these things from our life, and that is through God and His fire. Hebrews 12:29 tells us, “Our God is a consuming fire!” It is His fire alone that will cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
“But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver.” (Mal. 3:2-3)
Zechariah 13:8-9 says, “And it shall come to pass in all the land,” Says the Lord, “That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, but one-third shall be left in it: I will bring the one-third through the fire, will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘This is My people’; And each one will say, ‘The Lord is my God.'”
Therefore, we see from scripture that it is God who refines. Gold is refined only one way—with fire. Purification comes one way—by being plunged into the heart of fire, the place where the fire is the hottest and is kept there until it is completely purifies, until it loses all resemblance of what it once was. It only loses contact with the fire after it has been formed.
This is what happens when we confess our sins to God. He is faithful and just to forgive us AND cleanse and purify us from that sin.
I want you to notice that the scripture does not say that God is like a forest or an incinerator fire. It says He is like a refiner’s fire, and there is a difference. A forest fire destroys everything in its path. An incinerator consumes completely. This is not how our God does it. The Bible says in Malachi 3, “I, the Lord, do not change, therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed, you are not destroyed.’”
No, our God is like a refiner’s fire—He refines and purifies. He removes all the impurities that ruin value, and He burns them up and leaves the gold or silver intact.
It reminds me of brush fires. I have often burned brush in my back yard. I usually have a large fire that takes hours or even overnight to burn.
If I put the fire out too early, it leaves debris. However, most times I allow the fire to burn until there is nothing left but ashes. This takes time. Normally, I leave it burning all day and all night, and this is what God is showing us. He wants us to allow His fire to burn in us UNTIL it burns everything that is not of Him—until the only thing left is ashes. Then, and only then, will we walk in His glory. Then, and only then, will we experience beauty for ashes.
After God showed me this, I did a lot of soul-searching. I asked God to show me anything and everything that was hindering me from walking in His glory daily. And the things He showed me, I repented and covered them in the blood of Jesus. They are gone. Nothing left but ashes. I also asked Him to keep a fire burning in me continually, that all debris would stay gone.
Nothing is worth me not experiencing His manifested glory in my life on a daily basis. Nothing. Yes, God does give us beauty for ashes, but the beauty, the glorious crowning of His presence only comes after the ashes, and the ashes only come after the fire—the consuming fire. I want to be a part of that remnant God spoke of in Zechariah when He said, ‘They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘This is My people’ and each one will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’
Today I say, ‘Burn, God, burn. May Your consuming fire burn everything in me that needs to be removed, and leave nothing but ashes, for you are my God, and I am your people.’
Prayer for today: Father, I thank you for removing everything in me that is not of you. Burn it out of me, God, until there is nothing left but ashes. In Jesus name, amen.
Kim Potter was ordained through Norvel Hayes Ministry over 20 years ago. it was there that she fell in love with the Lord and began a life of worship. While Kim is known for her practical and easy-to-relate-to messages, she is no stranger to the extraordinary acts of God. Kim has witnessed God's dramatic healing power, both in her own life as well as with her daughter and many others.
In 2005 Kim founded A New Thing Ministries which reaches thousands of readers daily. In addition, Kim speaks at conferences and meetings nationwide. She currently is published often on the Elijah List Word of the Day, and has a blog on Spiritfuel.me as well as her website, www.anewthingministries.com and social media.
Kim’s message is a message of hope. She speaks to the heart of those who have become discouraged and disappointed by the circumstances they face in life, imparting to them the desire and ability to stand against all odds and see themselves as victorious and able to overcome every obstacle through God. She encourages people to press into God and discover that He is who He says He is. Her very life is a picture of God’s grace and unfailing love and declares that nothing is impossible with God.
Kim’s anointing comes from intimate times spent in the presence of the Lord. Nothing is more precious to her than the times she spends in the secret place with her God, from this place of oneness with Him, her anointing flows.