Isaiah 61
Beauty for Ashes
© Song by Xander Stok, Project of Love.
October 31, 2025.
Isaiah 61 - Beauty for Ashes
3. To all who mourn in Israel,
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.
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.
9. Everyone will realize that they are a people the LORD has blessed
7. and everlasting joy will be yours.
New Living Translation (NLT)
Verse 3: 'give them … be glorified' from New King James Version (NKJV)
Beauty for Ashes
This summer, I was again led by the Spirit to read the book of Isaiah. I love my Bible, all of it, but Isaiah is my 'cabin in the woods'.
Almost always, when I read Isaiah, it yields a lot of new songs, and this time was no exception. It felt like an outpouring of the Spirit.
When it came time to read Isaiah 61, one of my favorite chapters, I felt the Spirit direct my attention to verse 3.
“To all who mourn in Israel, 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.”
I've put Isaiah 61 to music before, but not centered around this verse.
I can't claim to understand how it really works, but most of the time, my writing process is an intimate collaboration with the Holy Spirit. But there are times when I feel the presence of Jesus guiding me, and this was such a time. Both are excellent co-writers, btw. 😉
Anyway, my life is the living testimony of this verse. Literally.
I lived with the spirit of heaviness (depression) for over 20 years. So much so that I needed addictions to cope. I lived a self-destructive, suicidal life as a singer/guitarist in a rock band.
In 2019, I had a life-changing experience. In that moment, God traded my ashes for beauty, the spirit of heaviness and its black cloak for a garment of praise.
And on January 19, 2021, when I read Isaiah 12: "and with joy I will drink deeply from the fountain of salvation," He lavishly poured out the oil of joy over my head, and my life changed for the second time. He gave me Project of Love.
So that "He may be glorified."
And now I'm "the planting of the Lord, a tree of righteousness."
And so are you if you've surrendered all of you to receive all of Him.
Have you held on to pain, disappointment, addiction, and depression for years? Don't let it consume or define you. Give Him your ashes—ALL of it—and He will give you your crown of beauty and the oil of joy.
He's a God of abundance, so He will POUR out His oil on you. And you'll become so slippery that the spirit of heaviness can never stick to you again! 😉👌
