“(Jesus) gave me beauty for ashes.” Isaiah 61:3
This painting is the first in a series on Isaiah 61. Beauty is represented by the lotus flower. The lotus flower grows in muddy, murky water: representing beauty growing in the midst of difficult circumstances. The roots of the flower are strong, sinewy, and intertwined: representing a strength of relationship with Jesus. The background alludes to brokenness and difficulties, yet the coloring transforms it into beauty.
God has made everything beautiful in its time (Eccl. 3:11). When we allow Jesus to touch our ‘ashes’ and work within us, we can’t help but be transformed. The results are beyond what we could do in our own human strength—the results are supernatural.
