Rehabbing the heart
Grand Sweep Daily Reading: 1 Chronicles 8, 9; Psalm 80 (NIV)
I Chronicles 9:1 (NIV)
1 The people of Judah were taken captive to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness.
Psalm 80: 3, 7, 19 (NIV)
3 Restore us, O Lord God Almighty; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.
7 Restore us, O Lord God Almighty; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.
19 Restore us, O Lord God Almighty; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.
Good morning!
Restoration is hard work. There is a section of downtown Saint Louis that is being restored today. Construction continues to bring old buildings back to life. Capturing the era in which they were erected, historical continuity coupled with modern day technology is reuniting the city’s past with its present. Have you ever rehabbed a home? Those who are gifted in the art of gutting and remodeling know full well the amount of time and energy that is birthed by a unique vision. For some, they see an inhabitable structure and feel desolation – no hope of revival. But for others, the people who can see past the demolition and imagine what this old house might truly become with a little revamping, just hand them a few power tools and watch how their dream becomes reality!
Sometimes the structures that we live in are falling down around us and we don’t even realize it. Blinded by sheer apathy or the sins that haunt our daily living, we hover in uninhabitable living quarters, refusing to see and address the necessary reconstruction that lies ahead. If you stop and take a closer look at the condition of your heart, you may find that you are living out your days in a building that is almost ready to collapse. We lose our dreams when the things of life begin to eat away at our foundation. Its kind of like having termites tear at your heart strings. There is only one way to get rid of the things that are eating you alive – you need to call an exterminator.
When we choose unfaithfulness over obedience, our lives eventually will eventually fall apart. Have you ever experienced a time in your life when you were held captive by some obsession or compulsion? Maybe you struggle with trust issues in relationships, because you’ve been hurt in the past and you don’t ever want to feel that exposed or raw ever again. Maybe your crutch is with comfort food. Are you starving for something you cannot seem to reach, and you try to appease that hunger by feeding your belly instead of your soul? When we identify the root of the problem, it is only then that we can reach for the right tools to help us correct the structural damage in our lives.
Our Lord Jesus Christ is the master architect. He knows who you are and where you’ve been. He sees the structural damage in your heart, and Jesus stands ready to heal you today. Are you ready to be rehabbed? Will you cry out to the only one who can fix your life forever, forgive the unfaithfulness you’ve struggled with, and let Him do the hard work inside of you today? Jesus is the only restorer I know who can take a piece of hardened clay, and make it soft and pliable again. If you need a little restorative work, cry out to the Lord. Everything changes when the Lord of life moves in.
Grace and peace,
Deb Spaulding
www.songofdeborah.com
Pray for: restoration! Jesus Christ is the only way to complete forgiveness and new life. Are you ready to let the master architect rehab your heart?
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© Copyright 2007, Deb Spaulding
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