Beauty for Ashes: Rebuilding After the Breaking

We have come to the finale of the series “From Affliction to Anointing: A Journey Through Suffering, Faith & Restoration”. 

We went through topics such as Affliction on Every Side But God is Greater; we spoke about purpose, deliverance, walking in victory, Refined by Fire, Fighting the Good Fight, and Reward of the Faithful. 

Today we are looking at Beauty for Ashes: Rebuilding After the Breaking. Because indeed, we cannot stay in the state of mind of affliction and suffering. We have to move towards reaping the good.

But the reality is, after we are broken by a particular situation, in the aftermath of brokenness, it is easy to believe that the story is over. 

Pain tries to silence purpose. Ashes seem like the final chapter. 

But the good news is that our God has always been a divine Rebuilder—He is the only One who specializes in turning ruins into righteousness and ashes into beauty.

Isaiah 61:3 (NKJV) says: "To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified."

This prophetic word points directly to the redemptive work of Jesus and God's divine exchange. In His hands, nothing is wasted—not even your breaking.

Let’s take a closer look through the lives of two lesser-known biblical figures who demonstrate God’s power to rebuild.

Jephthah – Rejected but Recommissioned

In the book of Judges 11:1–2 (ESV) we read: “Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute. Gilead was the father of Jephthah. And Gilead’s wife also bore him sons. And when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, 'You shall not have an inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.'”

Jephthah’s story begins in rejection. Labeled and outcast because of his mother’s past, he was discarded by those closest to him. Yet years later, in their time of need, the same people who rejected him came back, seeking his leadership.

Judges 11:11 (ESV) "So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and leader over them."

God used the very thing that broke Jephthah—rejection and exile—as preparation. His affliction shaped a leader. The ashes of his early life became the soil for anointing and deliverance.

Ever heard of Rizpah? She was a lesser-known figure, who showed what beauty looks like in persistent love and silent suffering.

2 Samuel 21:10 (NIV) "Rizpah daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on a rock. From the beginning of the harvest till the rain poured down from the heavens on the bodies, she did not let the birds touch them by day or the wild animals by night."

Rizpah’s sons were executed due to Saul’s past sins. 

In what seemed like a final, degrading loss, she refused to let their memory rot in shame. Day and night, for months, she guarded their remains—grieving, weeping, interceding.

Eventually, her silent vigil moved King David himself, prompting a national act of honour and burial.

2 Samuel 21:13–14 (NIV) "David brought the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from there, and they gathered up the bones of those who had been killed and buried them… After that, God answered prayer in behalf of the land."

Her breaking became the catalyst for healing a nation. 

Rizpah’s pain was not powerless—it became prophetic.

Family, our Creator God has a blueprint for rebuilding what has been broken. Question is, do we realize we have been broken and do we want the foundation to be rebuilt?

No matter what broke you—rejection like Jephthah, grief like Rizpah, betrayal, shame, or even your own mistakes—God does not discard your pieces. Oooh I am so glad about that this morning!

In fact, the God that I serve specializes in rebuilding what the world considers beyond repair. Somebody is getting some hope here!! Hallelujah.

Psalm 147:3 (NLT) "He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds."

Jeremiah 31:4 (NIV) "I will build you up again, and you, Virgin Israel, will be rebuilt. Again you will take up your timbrels and go out to dance with the joyful."

This promise wasn’t just for Israel—it’s for every broken soul who has faced loss, affliction, and disappointment. Notice the imagery: again you will dance. Again you will be joyful. Again you will live.

Then we can look at Isaiah 58:12 (KJV) "And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in."

Now this is more than just personal healing. This is generational rebuilding. God is not only restoring us, but also using us to restore what others abandoned. 

So our testimony becomes a blueprint. Our survival becomes a signal. Family, we are called to rebuild the broken places and raise up the spiritual legacy of our lineage.

Here are some questions we may want to ask ourselves:

What ashes are we holding? Relationships for example that have done their time? Burnt beyond recognition because people turned out to be fake or someone betrayed the other and unforgiveness has taken up residence?

Have you been broken and assume the rebuilding would never come? 

Have you dismissed your story because it doesn’t look polished or perfect?

Questions that need answers QTNA.

Like Jephthah, you might be an outcast with a calling. Like Rizpah, you may be carrying silent sorrow. But the reassurance for us today is that God sees, and God rebuilds. I know that’s right!

Zechariah 9:12 (NKJV) tells us: “Return to the stronghold, You prisoners of hope. Even today I declare That I will restore double to you."

Family, as we close this series, let that declaration settle in your spirit. You are not forgotten. You are not finished. Your affliction was not your identity—it was a doorway to your anointing. The breaking was never the end. It was the beginning of something more beautiful than you could imagine.

Today, let us rise from the ashes.
We are being rebuilt.
We are being reassigned.
We are being anointed.

From affliction to anointing—this is our legacy. 

aub - 16May25 

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