Walls Came Tumbling Down
By Luann Prater
Friday, September 8, 2017
“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.” Nehemiah 2:17 NIV
I don’t think any young girl dreams about riding off with Prince Charming only to have him dump her off at a crossroad. No, I’m pretty sure we all buy into the fairy tale that famous movie makers tell us, “and they lived happily ever after.”
I was completely unprepared for marriage, yet I married at an early age thinking we would figure it out along the way. Not a good plan. The foundation that we built our marriage on was not stable.
I’m going to be gut honest with you here, there were three main things that became our footing: Independence (from parents); Self; Lust.
We met at church but never sought God’s direction, not once. There was nothing to sustain us when the arguments ensued or when the bills needed to be paid.
Suddenly two young self-absorbed kids spiraled out of control and the walls around our marriage began to crumble.
The fight or flight instinct had seen my parents fight for decades and I knew that was not for me. So I hit the road with my clothes and my car and no destination in mind. Lost. Broken. Alone.
Trouble finds lonely broken people and it certainly found me. I had lived in disgrace, the first one in my family to get a divorce.
Yet God never gave up on me and neither did my parents. Their prayers were answered two decades later when I surrendered my ruins to the Rebuilder of Life, Jesus Christ.
I learned that there is no depth deeper than God’s reach, there is no sin He cannot redeem. His grace covered me. He made me a new creation built on His Truth, that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I am His child. He forgives. He is love.
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us.
It’s His power that is restoring me brick by brick. Ready to let Him rebuild your ruins, too? Take inventory of your ruins then ask God to forgive and reconstruct your life.
Father, We thank You for Your unconditional love. You do not love the way the world loves. Teach us to trust Your Truth when You say we are forgiven. Press on our hearts to forgive ourselves. Build new character, new value, new integrity into the fiber of our lives, we pray in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
© 2017 by Luann Prater. All rights reserved.
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