Rebuilding
January 30, 2017
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Read: Nehemiah 2:11–18
Bible in a Year: Exodus 23–24; Matthew 20:1–16
Come, let us rebuild
the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.—Nehemiah 2:17
When Edward Klee returned to Berlin after
being away for many years, the city he remembered and loved was no longer
there. It had changed dramatically, and so had he. Writing in Hemispheres magazine, Klee
said, “Returning to a city you once loved tends to be a hit-or-miss
proposition . . . . It can be a letdown.” Going back to the places of our
past may produce a feeling of sorrow and loss. We are not the same person we
were then, nor is the place that was so significant in our lives exactly as
it was.
Nehemiah had been in exile from the land of
Israel for many years when he learned of the desperate plight of his people
and the devastation in the city of Jerusalem. He received permission from Artaxerxes,
the Persian king, to return and rebuild the walls. After a night
reconnaissance to examine the situation (Neh. 2:13-15), Nehemiah told the
inhabitants of the city, “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” (v. 17).
Nehemiah did not return to reminisce but to
rebuild. It’s a powerful lesson for us as we consider the damaged parts of
our past that need repair. It is our faith in Christ and His power that
enables us to look ahead, move forward, and rebuild. —David McCasland
Thank You, Lord, for
the work You are doing in us and through us.
We cannot change the
past, but God is changing us for the future.
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