Pastor's Ponderings
Pastor Steve Larson

Pastor’s Ponderings……

       Remodeling is something that very few of us look forward to. It’s a lot of work. And it’s even less fun to look forward to when there has been some type of damage to cause the remodeling or the rebuilding to be necessary. Nehemiah went through a rebuilding project, and it was not a fun one, but he knew it had to be done and more importantly, he knew God was calling him to head up the project. The book of Nehemiah has much to teach us about how to rebuild. The walls of Jerusalem were in ruins. They were nothing but rubble. Wars and invasions in the past had utterly destroyed the city and the temple and the city walls. Nehemiah had a desire to return to his homeland and rebuild the walls. He asked permission of the King to return to Jerusalem. He granted Nehemiah this along with his blessing that Nehemiah might have whatever he needed to rebuild the walls and complete the task, because the good hand of his God was upon him. In fact,
with God’s help, Nehemiah completed the task in 52 days.

But what about when the walls that are in ruins are in our own life? Maybe it’s my life that lies in ruins and I feel like everything is just rubble. How do I rebuild the walls in my life? How do I make sense out of all the rubble in my life? Well, first of all we need to remember that it can be done with God’s help. With God nothing is impossible and nothing is too hard for God. But before we can rebuild we must inspect the damage. In Nehemiah 2:11-15 Nehemiah went out to assess the damage- just how bad was it? We have to be willing to be honest with ourselves as to how bad the damage is. We can not rebuild, we cannot heal, if we are not first willing to look at the damage and the destruction and see it for what it really is. If we don’t, our tendency will be to try to live on the rubble and pretend it’s not there, or pretend that it doesn’t need repair. And when we try to live on the mess, we keep stumbling over the same rubble over and over again. It doesn’t make it go away just because we pretend it isn’t there. We must deal with the rubble. We have to deal with the ruin. If we don’t we will continue to have weak walls, or even no walls at all…and therefore, no protection. In chapter2:17 Nehemiah says, “You see the trouble we are in”. Do you see the trouble? Have you looked honestly? Ignoring it will not make it go away. TV, internet, drinking, overeating, exercising, moving away, a new car, boat, house, boyfriend or girlfriend, or anything else will not make it go away. It has to be looked at and then rebuilt. If we are unwilling to be honest in our assessment of the damage, we will always fall victim to the critics and the scoffers and the troublemakers as we try to rebuild. We end up giving in. We end up agreeing with the critics in their assessment of us. And of course we know who our number one critic is, the devil. The last thing he wants is for us to have victory in our lives and to find the healing that God wants to give us. The devil says, “You’ll never make it, why even try, your life is hopeless, why don’t you just give up?” Nehemiah had to deal with those who criticized him. But he had a way of answering them when they told him to quit. He simply said, “The hand of my God is upon me for good.” “The God of heaven will make us prosper.” How do we answer our critics when they would just as soon see us fail and continue to live on the rubble? Jeremiah 29:11 is a very good response for us. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” In 2 Corinthians 5:17 we are reminded, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”  There is newness in Christ. 
 
Sometimes we need to ask for help in rebuilding our walls and clearing away the rubble. In Nehemiah chapter 2 verse 17 Nehemiah says, “Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem.” Nehemiah knew he needed help, he knew he could not do it alone, so he asked for help. He first asked God to be his help and strength and then he asked others to help him. Asking for help can be one of the most difficult things to do because we have to show someone else what we look like. We may have to admit that we don’t have it all together. But the fact is that none of us have it all together, we all need help, God’s help if nothing else.
 
After assessing the damage, looking at it honestly, then lining up the help he needed, Nehemiah moved forward in God’s strength and in His leading to clear away and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Is there an area of your life that you’ve been ignoring? Perhaps it’s too painful to walk through and look at. But you must admit, it’s not getting better is it. And it’s not going away either. Isn’t it time to find the healing that you so desperately want...and the victory that always seems to be just beyond your reach? Give it over to the Lord. He has the healing and the victory that you’ve been looking for. He loves you, He cares so much for you, and He wants to rebuild you as only He can in order to make you into His image that you would shine for Him to the honor and praise of His mighty name. Thank you Jesus, you have a plan for our lives.
 
Give it all to Him.

Pastor Steve