Out of the ashes...

"Let us Rise and Build."

-Nehemiah 2:18

~~O~~

This requisition was enough to change the course of a country's fate, to swing the momentum and motivate God's people to rebuild what had been burned, to repair what had been broken, and most importantly to move them

Out of despair,

Out of despondency,

Into New Hope

and Possibility...

Our lives are also construction sites,

Always in flux

Sometimes we too go through seasons of demolition--

Perhaps the structure outlived its usefulness,

Or was no longer safe to dwell in...

...But God doesn't leave us among the ruins.

Yes, there is loss,

Yes, there is a time to grieve what was...

But there is also a time to Rise and Build.

And just as Nehemiah did,

for the displaced and disoriented victims of the diaspora,

So Jesus does for us:

He dons a hard hat,

Lifts us up,

out of the ashes of what was,

then turns our face to the new thing that will be.

He fills our heads with vision,

our hands with purpose,

and our hearts with courage;

and with that deceptively simple directive,

He lays the foundation for Brand New Day:

"Let us Rise and Build." 

~~O~~

"Awake, awake!  Put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city!  Shake yourself from the dust; Arise!"

-Isaiah 52:1, 2

Photo courtesy of Dan Denardo Photography