Aftermath of the Destruction

TNIV Scripture for Wednesday, September 17, 2008 [Isaiah 58:9-12]

Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. 'If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

When we first got married, we lived in Galveston, Texas for four years while my husband attended medical school. Our home was a little (500 sq. ft.) wooden house on stilts just four blocks from the beach. The police called the fourteen blocks of the residential area in which we resided "the jungle" because it was made up of low rent housing with lots of crime. Thankfully, we were on the edge of that area and not in the middle! Although, I don't know for sure that the house was destroyed in hurricane Ike, I imagine that it did not make it through the storm and water surge. In fact, I imagine most of "the jungle" is no longer there. No one likes storms and destruction, but often, when you go back later, you see that things were not only rebuilt, but they are far better than they were before. I am praying that the jungle will be rebuilt and no longer be the crime infested place it was.

This story is a metaphor for my life. I have been through some pretty tough storms or struggles that have blown away the flimsy structures I built on false gods of self. Thankfully, God brought destructive winds and water along the way to give me a new chance to be rebuilt His way with far better building materials because I called out to Him and surrendered all to Him. May you welcome the storms of life that will clean out the old flesh and let God rebuild you into His beautiful and eternal city.

Beth Warlick, 9/17/2008