“I will go before you
and level the mountains,
I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
and cut through the bars of iron,
I will give you the treasures of darkness
and riches hidden in secret places,
so that you may know that it is I. . .
who call you by your name.” (Isa. 45:2-3)
Ever think about the process of refining gold, silver, and precious stones, or harvesting pearls? First, they don’t lie on the surface of things. They are mined out of darkness and hidden places. Effort is required to excavate, sort, sift, polish, subject to fire, or to facet. What makes precious metals, gemstones, and pearls valuable is partly their rarity and partly the investment of time, effort, skill, and cost to bring out the fullness of their beauty. The Architect of our souls, speaking through the prophet Isaiah, applied this process in the natural as a metaphor for how we are seen through the Heavenly Jeweler’s Eye:
“O afflicted one, storm-tossed, and not comforted,
Behold, I will set your stones in antimony,
And your foundations I will lay in sapphires.
Moreover, I will make your battlements of rubies,
And your gates of crystal,
And your entire wall of precious stones.” (Isa. 54:11-12)
The poem that follows embodies the above promises available to all if we acknowledge our Maker and yield to the process. Perhaps you might take some time to meditate on these images. Craft the picture they form into some kind of representational art to set before your eyes, or ask the Creator to give you an alternate way to envision your completion―i.e. personalized word pictures for you to “steep” in. You are of inestimable value―which goes beyond the desire to be adorned beautifully. You are meant to be the embodiment of beauty itself. Wrapping our minds around that reality alters not only our perception of God, but also how we view ourselves.
THE TREASURES OF DARKNESS
~
You’ve seen my afflictions, O Maker of me. . .
the carnage, the rubble, effects of my storms
the grief and the anguish. . . I’m broken, forlorn.
But treasures from darkness. . . what does that mean?
What wealth could You possibly mine out of me?
~
“There are tales of your triumph, My dear one, My child.
I see you completed with radiant smile.
You’ll have stories to tell. . . which will set others free. . .
’tis I who can make your blind eyes to see.
~
I’ll lay your foundations with sapphires of blue,
prophetic decrees, embedded with truth.
With faceted, polished, most precious stones
I’ll rebuild your walls, re-fashion your home. . .
with towers of rubies paid with Christ’s blood
reminders to you of My infinite love.
~
The gateways that mark every entrance to you. . .
your mind and your heart, your ears and your eyes
your portal for speech. . . I have a design
to craft each of those with sparkling jewels
and Wisdom will be the tool that I use.
~
And what’s the reward, the fruit of your faith?
More precious than gold, it’s a trophy of Grace.”
~
[excerpted and adapted from The Voice of Rachel Weeping:A Creative Journey of Compassion, Healing, and Hope for Abused Women available through Xulon Press]
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