As I sat thinking about what I just read about the book of Nehemiah, chapters four through six, something monumental occurred to me. God will allow manmade constructs to be torn down and demolished for the rebuild to be better. Lessons are learned. Scars still remain. Maybe the rebuild isn’t as fancy or blingy as the original. The fancy bling isn’t for God, it’s for human eyes and human pride.

What shall I do with this monumental occurrence?

Through the years, I’ve built walls brick by brick, slathering between each layer, the mortar that would hold it all together. I wasn’t going to let anything take down these ‘protective structures.’ But wait, did they truly protect me? Could they be brought down? 

Did I even realize I had built these constructs? Nope. No, I didn’t. Not until God showed me he was tearing them down. Sometimes brick by brick, as they were built up. Sometimes … an entire section would be brought down in a heap as if a wrecking ball had come through. Tears. A puddle of tears I would find myself in.

Rebuilding. 

Time to rebuild. And yet … in the rebuilding, there’s still some demo still being done. 

I see in the rebuilding, the scars from the original wall are still present. There’s learning to rebuild with different materials, different tools, different builders.

Nehemiah chapter four. It occurs to me that while the people rebuilt Jerusalem, they were actively combating their enemies. They had weapons of warfare in one hand and building tools in the other. Some builders served as guards to protect the workers as they labored. They labored by day and stood guard by night.

I truly see, spiritually, emotionally, and physically, there’s warfare in the rebuilding.

And battle armor is a necessity. 

 Faulty protective walls come down. Newness of vision arises. Rebuilt structures exist for a purpose. For the welcoming of God. For the presence of the Father. Not for the eye candy of man. Not for the puffing up of man. 

The new is a choice to usher into private quarters, the presence, power, and majesty of God. Into the scars. Into the rubble of the past. Into the strength of Jesus.