After a devastating fire in 1913 threatened to close Toccoa Falls College, God gave the school’s founder Dr. Richard Forrest a promise that has become the college’s anthem of faith: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners . . . to comfort all who mourn . . . giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified” (Isaiah 61:1-3) Today, you may feel as though your life is nothing more than a battlefield of destruction. You have been tested by fire and wonder if you will be able to continue. The answer is yes! Jesus has come to set you free from doubt and worry. He promises to comfort all who mourn, to provide beauty for ashes, and a mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fear or fainting. Trust Him and He will work mightily in your life!

I love color. Maybe it is because I spent the early part of my life living in gray areas that only brought sorrow and heartache. Yesterday after taking this photograph, I just thought, “Yes! Let everything praise the Lord!”

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