Our Disgrace...His Grace

Have you ever been disgraced? Felt ashamed? Have you ever just stood in the middle of a big mess of rubble paralyzed with embarrassment? I am pretty sure we have all been surrounded by rubble at one time or another...the rubble of disobedience, the rubble of selfishness, greed, gossip, pride...and the list could go on and on. We forget that we are children of the King...living in the Light. The Light dims as we stray into the gray...and finally slip into complete darkness. The walls around us start to crumble...we stumble as we separate ourselves from our Father. Then...there we are standing knee deep stuck in a big ole' mess...in disgrace...ashamed. That is pretty much where the Israelites found themselves...otherwise surely they would have started to re-build the wall again on their own.

Rebuilding is much harder than building from scratch. New building starts out with a nice flat space that has been cleared off and is ready for the laying of the foundation. Rebuilding means you have to clear away the rubble first...toss out the broken and ruined....clean up the space before beginning to build again. Before we can rebuild our broken souls...we must feel our shame....which motivates us to repentance. And here is the thing...we can't do it ourselves! He covers our shame...He cleans us up....He claims us once again...He covers our disgrace in His grace.

God sent them Nehemiah. Did they need encouragement? A plan? Maybe they needed inspiration? A leader? God nudged Nehemiah...Nehemiah listened. Nehemiah then motivated the people to pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and get moving! AND...he joined them in their efforts. No finger shaking in the face...instead Nehemiah rolled up his own sleeves...using the words "we" and "us". They were no longer living in disgrace...and to make it extra sweet...this task was completed in record breaking 52 days! Just so the world would be totally clear that God's hands did the rebuilding...not by regular human efforts. Did God need their help? Of course not...but maybe a little sweat and work is good for the soul...might have been the first record of community service. Helps you to appreciate the value of wall...

Isn't God just so incredible? He just takes us where we are and does something amazing...mess and all. Are you in the middle of the rubble? Or maybe you are just a regular ole' cup bearer...and God is whispering in your ear. We might be the rubble...or the tools...but no mistaking who is the Builder!