“Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God, and because of them we set a watch against them day and night. Then Judah said, ‘The strength of the laborers is failing, and there is so much rubbish that we are not able to build the wall’…And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, ‘Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.'”
(Nehemiah 4:9,10,14)
Nehemiah is a wonderful book to study. The wall surrounding Jerusalem needed to be rebuilt in order to keep out her enemies. Nehemiah is the chosen leader for the job. This is a great lesson on restoration, especially that of a nation. However, I want us to think about the broken places in our own lives.
“There is so much rubbish that we are not able to build the wall…”
That’s a good way to put it, isn’t it? When we find our world falling apart it can seem overwhelming – impossible. The broken places are surrounded by rubble. Crumbled hearts and people stare us in the face. Maybe job loss and financial security rolls away and tumbles into the mound of rubble surrounding us. A life of depression has replaced the one filled with hope and joy. There is no strength left – no protective barrier – to fight off the enemy. We lay vulnerable and frightened in the dark.
There is so much rubbish it seems impossible to rebuild the wall.
What did Nehemiah tell the children of Israel when they wanted to give up? Verse 14 says, “Do not be afraid of them (the enemies). Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”
FIGHT.
Don’t give up.
Remember your great and awesome Lord.
I love Isaiah 58:12, “Those from among you shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, the Restorer of Paths to Dwell in.”
You, friend shall rebuild the old waste places when you remember the great and awesome Lord. He will strengthen you to repair the breaches – the broken places in your life. He will anoint you with power to restore your paths.
The Hebrew word for restorer is shub (shoov). It means to “turn back, return, retrieve.” It also means to “go back to a point of departure” (commentary, Spirit Filled Life Bible).
Go back to a point of departure.
Oh my goodness.
Let it sink in.
Go back to the point of departure.
Can you identify the turning point in your life? Or, can you identify when the broken place in your heart occurred? Let Jesus take you back to that place, clean off the rubble of disappointment and pain and help you rebuild the wall there. The great and awesome Lord is with you. You are His child. He will strengthen you; yea, He will help you. He will anoint you with power to overcome and repair the breach in your life, for He desires wholeness for His children.
But, you must REMEMBER Him. Remember your great and awesome Lord, the lover of your soul, your Redeemer and friend. Take His hand and return to the place of departure and ask Him to repair the broken place.
I’ve heard He is quite the cornerstone when it comes to building.
Father, we love You so much. You truly are a great and awesome Lord. Thank You for caring enough for us to desire our wholeness. When we are broken, You weep for us. Send Your power and restore Your people. There is much work to be done. Thank You Father.
right now there are several breaches in the wall around my life~my wayward children. In prayer and fasting~Fighting~for them!! Please pray for us, Nan…we are at a critical point with a couple.
lvya!
You know I will my precious sister. My David's favorite saying, " It's always darkest before the dawn." I will ask God to give you wisdom and patience **grin** Love you dear one!
I received a wonderful confirmation of this today in Ezra 6 and 7. Verse 5 says, And also let the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and brought back to the temple that is in Jerusalem, each to its place. You shall put them in the house of God.
I'm convinced that even at this hour of great apostasy, all God's TRUE sheep will hear His voice and make a glorious return. I believe the remnant, the little flock, those of us who from the depths of our hearts confess our spiritual bankruptcy, will experience a hurricane of revival. I'm experiencing it and seeing it in the lives of many others.
This is a time for the true Church (a group of Spirit-filled people, not an institution of men) to shine brighter than ever. Yeshua Immanu-el is our light! Our Saviour will restore us so we CAN shine and be restorers of others!
I'm praying for a rebuilding so glorious and a light with such brightness that we will not need to start speaking to get people interested in the Lord. I pray the Lord's LIFE in us will be so evident that THEY will ask 'What is it about you that is SO different?'
That's part of the reason I received Isaiah 60. Receive it, believe it, proclaim it from the rooftops!
Restore us, Lord, not because we deserve it, for you know very well we have failed you and denied you soooo many times. Do it for your name's sake!
Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!
So that all the people of the earth may KNOW that YOU ARE THE LORD!