We have officially entered into the last quarter of the year and as I sought God for direction on what to write about this month, He took me to Ezra chapters 3 through 5 and then directed me to Nehemiah chapters 1 through 4 (take a few moments to go read these passages in the Bible). As I read through these chapters, it was initially difficult to understand the message that God wanted to convey but the more time spent reflecting, the more God began to put things into perspective.
In the book of Ezra those chapters take you through the rebuilding of an altar and the temple in Jerusalem.
“When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, the people assembled together as one in Jerusalem. Then Joshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his associates began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, in accordance with what is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and evening sacrifices.” (Ezra 3:1-3 NIV)
In the book of Ezra those chapters take you through the rebuilding of an altar and the temple in Jerusalem.
“When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, the people assembled together as one in Jerusalem. Then Joshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his associates began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, in accordance with what is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and evening sacrifices.” (Ezra 3:1-3 NIV)
Nehemiah’s chapters take you through the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem.
“so I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back and reentered through the Valley Gate. The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work. Then I said to them, ‘You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.’ I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me. They replied, ‘Let us start rebuilding.’ So they began this good work.” (Nehemiah 2:15-18 NIV)
In both of these passages, God specifically emphasized rebuilding. When I looked up the definition of rebuild, dictionary.com defined it as: “to repair, especially to dismantle and reassemble with new parts. 2. to replace, restrengthen, or reinforce.” This month I want to encourage each reader to take time to rebuild. Rebuild the areas of your life that you know need work. It could be taking time to rebuild your faith in God. Rebuild your hope. Rebuild your prayer life. Reinforce your commitment to God and rebuild your relationship. Rebuild your way of thinking. Rebuild your joy. Reassemble your ideas and visions that God blessed you with and rebuild the framework now that you’ve been exposed to new experiences. Restrengthen your level of patience, peace, kindness or humility to rebuild your character when faced with inevitable situations.
“so I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back and reentered through the Valley Gate. The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work. Then I said to them, ‘You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.’ I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me. They replied, ‘Let us start rebuilding.’ So they began this good work.” (Nehemiah 2:15-18 NIV)
In both of these passages, God specifically emphasized rebuilding. When I looked up the definition of rebuild, dictionary.com defined it as: “to repair, especially to dismantle and reassemble with new parts. 2. to replace, restrengthen, or reinforce.” This month I want to encourage each reader to take time to rebuild. Rebuild the areas of your life that you know need work. It could be taking time to rebuild your faith in God. Rebuild your hope. Rebuild your prayer life. Reinforce your commitment to God and rebuild your relationship. Rebuild your way of thinking. Rebuild your joy. Reassemble your ideas and visions that God blessed you with and rebuild the framework now that you’ve been exposed to new experiences. Restrengthen your level of patience, peace, kindness or humility to rebuild your character when faced with inevitable situations.
While you put in time to rebuild the areas of your life that you believe need work this month, I want to let you know that you will face opposition to the rebuilding process. In both Ezra and Nehemiah’s passages from above, there was opposition to the rebuilding.
“When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, ‘What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are?’...... But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the people of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat." (Nehemiah 4:1-2 and 7-9 NIV)
It is up to you to make the decision to stand strong through the opposition that you will be faced with as you rebuild certain areas of your life this month. It will not be easy, but if you continue rebuilding as much as you can through your opposition, in the long run, God will not disappoint.
“When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, ‘What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are?’...... But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the people of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat." (Nehemiah 4:1-2 and 7-9 NIV)
It is up to you to make the decision to stand strong through the opposition that you will be faced with as you rebuild certain areas of your life this month. It will not be easy, but if you continue rebuilding as much as you can through your opposition, in the long run, God will not disappoint.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
We thank you. Thank you for your faithfulness. Thank you for being a dependable friend. Thank you for being a deliverer. Thank you for being a constant shield of protection. Thank you for the things that you do daily that we don’t know to thank you for. We appreciate you for being all that you are and we give your glory. Lord we pray for a mindset and will to rebuild the areas of our lives that need work. Bless us with the ability to be able to gracefully face the opposition that will come along with rebuilding and teach us to lean on you with complete trust. Guide us throughout this new season of our lives and direct our every move. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
Heavenly Father,
We thank you. Thank you for your faithfulness. Thank you for being a dependable friend. Thank you for being a deliverer. Thank you for being a constant shield of protection. Thank you for the things that you do daily that we don’t know to thank you for. We appreciate you for being all that you are and we give your glory. Lord we pray for a mindset and will to rebuild the areas of our lives that need work. Bless us with the ability to be able to gracefully face the opposition that will come along with rebuilding and teach us to lean on you with complete trust. Guide us throughout this new season of our lives and direct our every move. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.