Joyce Meyer: Promises for Your Everyday Life - a Daily DevotionalSample

Give Him Your Ashes When we let God take our messes and turn them into miracles, the Father has the ability to use our mistakes for our good if we will only trust Him. Isaiah 61:3 says He will give us "beauty instead of ashes," but I find that many people want to hold on to their ashes, the cinders of the past, as reminders of their shortcomings and failures. I encourage you to let go of your ashes and reach for something new. Too many people live in the past, feeling like they'll never have another chance. Do you need a second chance? Ask God for a second chance or a third, fourth or fifth, whatever you need. God is full of mercy and long-suffering. His loving-kindness never fails or comes to an end. The Bible says that He has removed your transgressions from you, so you don't have to hang on to them anymore. Jesus came to lift burdens, but you must be willing to let them go and believe He is greater than your mistakes. Give Him your ashes today. Prayer Starter: God, I know it doesn't do me any good to hang on to the past when You lovingly stand before me with a fresh chance, so I let go of my ashes. I give them to You, excited to see the beauty that You will bring from them.