A Crown of Beauty for Ashes-Double Portion-Corona Means Crown

To all who mourn . . .
    he will give a crown of beauty for ashes,
a joyous blessing instead of mourning,
    festive praise instead of despair.
In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks
    that the Lord has planted for his own glory . . .

Instead of shame and dishonor,
    you will enjoy a double share of honor.
You will possess a double portion of prosperity in your land,
    and everlasting joy will be yours. –Isaiah 61:3,7 NLT

Isaiah 61 has always been one of my favorite passages in Scripture because it infuses me with hope. It reveals God’s creative nature and His heart for justice towards His children. It also demonstrates God’s extravagant love for humanity. A promise keeper through the ages, God declares a double portion eternal blessing of joy and bliss for those who remain faithful to Him through life’s burdens and temptations.

I created this painting as a testimony of God’s healing power over my life and how He has been faithful to bring a double portion of joy and strength to combat brokenness.

This canvas incorporates filtered, black and white photocopied prints from my youth through adulthood. Some pictures represent great triumphs and some bring up memories of deep suffering. I speckled ash over the photos using acrylic medium. Melted crayon bark broken into pieces represents childlike faith as well as God’s many colors of grace and glory deposited throughout my life.

Dust and Adjust Your Crown!

A few months ago I had a sore tooth and visited my dentist. The hygienist said that the upper part of my crown looked like it needed a good cleaning. Some plaque build-up was probably irritating the gum.

As she went to town on the upper part of my crown full vigor, she commented, “wow, this is really stubborn!” I kept praying she wouldn’t slip and take out my eye along with my tooth. She was really going for it!

But then with excitement she said, “Did you feel that? A big deposit just came off! I think you’re going to feel a lot of relief from this.” She was right. My tooth and gum healed up immediately after the cleaning.

The next day I kept hearing God say to me, “Dust off your crown! Don’t you know who you are?”

Like many, I was expectantly believing 2020 to be a year of double portion blessing, favor of God, and 2020 vision. But as the struggles of life came in like a flood, I became distracted from that promise. Fear began robbing my faith. Can you relate? So, when God spoke to me about dusting and adjusting my crown, I was all ears. I received His gentle rebuke and started researching the word crown. Here’s what I discovered:

A dental crown is described as a covering for the upper part of a weak tooth to protect it from breaking.

God is our covering authority. When we place our faith in Jesus, He becomes our protector, strength and shield (See Psalms 28 & 91).

A head crown is a circular ornamental headdress worn by a monarch as a symbol of authority, usually made of precious metals and jewels. Or a wreath of flowers worn as an emblem of victory, achievement, an award. The top or highest part of something. The upper part of a cut gem.

The Word of God declares that Jesus, the King of kings, was given all authority in heaven and on earth. In turn, He crowned mankind with glory and honor, giving them charge of everything He made and has put all things under the Believers’ authority (Matthew 28:18-20, Psalm 8). When we receive Jesus as our personal Savior, His Holy Spirit lives inside us. His Spirit unites us fully to Him making us one with Him, which gives us authority over every evil (Colossians 2:9-10). But it doesn’t stop there! God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms! (Ephesians 2:6)

Can you picture that? As royal sons and daughters of the One True God, we are crowned with glory and honor, co-seated with Jesus in heaven. We have been given the authority of Christ to accomplish great achievements for His glory. We are living from a place of victory, not for a victory, because Jesus already won the battle for us on the cross.

All we have to do is believe it! If we truly believed our identity and purpose is co-creating with Jesus from a position of victory, our lives and our world would look radically different. We’d be consistently confident, effective in love, and would never fall for the lie that is fear.

When a baby crowns it means the baby is emerging from the womb.

This is God’s heart for His church in this hour— The Army of God rising up with humble confidence to take its position against the spiritual forces of evil (Ephesians 6:12). As the Bride of Christ makes herself ready, praying, believing, and obeying the Word, may she emerge as a generous radiant church operating in faith (with wisdom) not fear, and resting in God’s love. May we humbly serve to build His Kingdom united together for His glory.

Throughout the coming ages we will be the visible display of the infinite, limitless riches of his grace and kindness, which was showered upon us in Jesus Christ. For it was only through this wonderful grace that we believed in him. Nothing we did could ever earn this salvation, for it was the gracious gift from God that brought us to Christ! So no one will ever be able to boast, for salvation is never a reward for good works or human striving.

We have become his poetry, a re-created people that will fulfill the destiny he has given each of us, for we are joined to Jesus, the Anointed One. Even before we were born, God planned in advance our destiny and the good works we would do to fulfill it! –Ephesians 2:7-10 TPT

And to my surprise I realized halfway through writing this post that corona, in light of our global pandemic, means crown! referring to the crownlike spikes on its surface.

When we place our faith in Jesus, He promises to bring beauty from our ashes— or life from death. Right before Jesus went to the cross to take the punishment for our sins, His accusers put a crown of thorns on His head to mock Him. The crown of thorns represented the curse of sin and death that was placed on Jesus so that we could be freed from that curse (Matthew 27:28-31). Jesus’ death brought us eternal life. Salvation in Jesus is ultimately our crowning inheritance.

A Crown of Glory for A Crown of Thorns

I don’t believe in coincidences. Corona means crown. I believe God is speaking loud and clear to anyone who will listen. As we face this global shaking during the coronavirus, God is calling people everywhere to pause and draw near to Him. He’s inviting us to remember all Jesus won for us on the cross and to reflect His character on earth.

Romans 8:28 says, And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

Therefore, the double portion blessing promised for 2020 still stands! Through this trial, I believe families are being restored, marriages revived, and visions renewed. What seemed important before may not seem as important now. Or vice versa. Either way, may this time of testing become a time of resting—a new normal where people unite and become more intentional about praying together and interceding on behalf of our nation.

May our prayers and praise fill God’s throne room so we can receive His favor and see justice poured out upon the earth. And may we all live by faith, not fear, because if your faith remains strong, even while surrounded by life’s difficulties, you will continue to experience the untold blessings of God! True happiness comes as you pass the test with faith, and receive the victorious crown of life promised to every lover of God! –James 1:12 TPT

In Conclusion

Circumstances change, but God’s character never changes. No matter what we face individually or globally, God is on the throne. He’s not worried. But He longs for His bride to return to Him. As we invite Jesus to be our covering crown, He will bind our wounds and heal our brokenness. As we allow childlike faith to abound in our hearts, His light will shine through the darkness and we will receive a crown of beauty for ashes – the double portion blessings described in Isaiah 61!

. . . And they lay their crowns before the throne and say, “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.” – Revelation 4:10-11 NLT

 

An Invitation to Salvation

If you have never placed your faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, and would like to know what it means to have a personal relationship with Him through the Holy Spirit, consider praying this simple prayer:

Father God, I admit that I’ve sinned against You. I’m sorry for the things I’ve done wrong and I want to do better. I believe that when Your Son Jesus died on the cross, He took the punishment for my sin. But He didn’t stay dead. He rose from the dead and is now seated in glory at Your right hand. Jesus, please come into my life and fill me with Your Holy Spirit so that I can receive this free gift of salvation and spend eternity with You in heaven. Amen!

If you prayed that prayer wholeheartedly, congratulations! You have been adopted into the family of God. A crown of victory has been placed on your head! Your life is now sealed in Christ and you have an inheritance that will last forever. Below are a few recommendations to help you along your journey.

Full Passage of Isaiah 61, Good News for the Oppressed

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me,
    for the Lord has anointed me
    to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted
    and to proclaim that captives will be released
    and prisoners will be freed.
² He has sent me to tell those who mourn
    that the time of the Lord’s favor has come,
    and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies.
³ To all who mourn in Israel,
    he will give a crown of beauty for ashes,
a joyous blessing instead of mourning,
    festive praise instead of despair.
In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks
    that the Lord has planted for his own glory.

⁴ They will rebuild the ancient ruins,
    repairing cities destroyed long ago.
They will revive them,
    though they have been deserted for many generations.
⁵ Foreigners will be your servants.
    They will feed your flocks
and plow your fields
    and tend your vineyards.
⁶ You will be called priests of the Lord,
    ministers of our God.
You will feed on the treasures of the nations
    and boast in their riches.
⁷ Instead of shame and dishonor,
    you will enjoy a double share of honor.
You will possess a double portion of prosperity in your land,
    and everlasting joy will be yours.

⁸ “For I, the Lord, love justice.
    I hate robbery and wrongdoing.
I will faithfully reward my people for their suffering
    and make an everlasting covenant with them.
⁹ Their descendants will be recognized
    and honored among the nations.
Everyone will realize that they are a people
    the Lord has blessed.”

¹⁰ I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God!
    For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation
    and draped me in a robe of righteousness.
I am like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding
    or a bride with her jewels.
¹¹ The Sovereign Lord will show his justice to the nations of the world.
    Everyone will praise him!
His righteousness will be like a garden in early spring,
    with plants springing up everywhere.

 

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