Sometimes I get so caught up in desiring worldly favor that I forget the magnificence of brokenness- wherein resides the opportunity to be re-made.
In sunshine, dust and dirt slowly gather; oil accumulates on paved roads, and smog clouds the air… but then something unexpected happens. The clouds approach and let lose their tears. Hundreds of glass beads shatter against my skin, and I am forced to surrender the vain image that I have constructed, in exchange for puddles and disappointment. Yet when it rains- that’s when my bridegroom is washing me clean and making me His own.
In His faithfulness, Jesus’ rain has washed away many of my idols- from relationships to titles that I once desired. He is still washing me.
It has been raining on Bangla Road. It’s been one of the wettest ‘dry seasons,’ Patong has experienced. As a physical expression of the Spiritual climate, rain has poured every night that my team has walked on Bangla Road for the past few weeks.
“The Lord will hold you in His hand for all to see- a splendid crown in the hand of God. Never again will you be called ‘The Forsaken City’ or ‘The Desolate Land.’ Your new name will be ‘The City of God’s Delight’ and ‘The Bride of God,’ for the Lord delights in you and will claim you as His bride.” –Isaiah 62:3-4
God is mourning the wayward heart of His bride on Bangla Road, but He is beginning to wash her clean once more. More and more girls are confessing their disdain for their work on Bangla. They feel fettered to an obligation. They carry the weight of providing for their families.
As I sat with Dee last week on a day date, she expressed disgust for her work. When I met Dee at her bar, she was wearing a flashing pin- advertising her price to potential customers. She sells her body in a humiliating guise, so that each month she can send a check home.
As she clings to her compulsion to provide, God is sending a great deluge. Jesus is washing away the ashes in her hands and forcing her to let go of her unnecessary burden. In the newly empty space between her fingertips and wrists, Jesus is placing his nail-scarred hands.
In the newly empty space between my fingertips and wrists, Jesus is placing his nail-scarred hands.
“He will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair.” –Isaiah 61:3
