Beauty From Ashes: Transforming Pain Into PurposeSample

Stewarding Others' Ashes

As God transforms our ashes into beauty, He often entrusts us with the sacred privilege of entering into others' ash heaps. This is where art becomes ministry at its deepest level.

I learned this through what some have called "intercessory art." Sometimes God would lay someone on my heart—someone going through deep pain—and I'd feel led to create for them. Not with any agenda or specific message, but simply holding their pain before the Lord as I worked.

One piece stands out in my memory. A friend was walking through unspeakable loss. Words felt hollow. But as I created a piece for them called "Goodness and Mercy," I found myself praying for them and asking God to move in their life powerfully every time they reflected on this piece. The finished artwork carried something—an intercession, a hope, a promise that their ashes weren't the end of the story.

When we've walked through our own ash heaps with God, He entrusts us to sit with others in theirs. Our art becomes a ministry of presence, a tangible reminder that they're not alone, that beauty can still emerge.

This is holy ground—creating not from our pain but alongside another's, being trusted with their ashes and believing with them for beauty to come.

Creative Prayer Exercise: Ask God to bring someone to mind who is walking through a difficult season. Spend time creating something for them—not to fix or provide answers, but simply to bear witness to their pain and point toward hope. Let your creative process be a prayer for their journey from ashes to beauty.

Prayer: Father, what a privilege to be trusted with others' pain. Give me wisdom and sensitivity as I create alongside those in their ash heaps. Help me to bear burdens without trying to fix, to create with compassion, not judgment. Use my art as a ministry of presence and hope. May those walking through dark valleys know they're not alone. In Jesus' name, Amen.