God is in the business of rebuilding, restoring, and renewing the lives of those who desire to yield to his will and live beyond themselves. But when the enemy takes a hold and we give into a season of sin, we may feel like we will never experience the victory. If we have sewn God’s word into our hearts, minds, and souls and we believe God can bring redemption–He will! Why? Because pulling us up from the pit and finishing the work He started in us is His nature. Leaving us in a heap of sin isn’t His way.
I realize there are people out there who have lost hope. Who have gone to eternity in what seems to be despair and possibly during a time when they are making all the wrong choices. I don’t know why God allows some to leave us and others to press through and overcome our troubles.
All I know is my will has been a factor in my life. Back in 2011, the Word of God that I had invested into my life, received, and believed equaled over 1000 hours of prayer, pouring over scripture, and pursuing God’s presence — and it had prepared me for the time I was in the deepest, darkest place of my life.
The ironic thing is at that time I was in anything but a season of sin. I’d already been sifted like wheat years earlier. And I’m confident that if I hadn’t spent the time in God’s Word and experienced his healing Holy Spirit afterward, that I would have easily — EASILY — fallen back into that pattern of sin. But at that time, I had too much at stake. I had five children counting on me. I had a husband who — despite all he was doing that was hurting me — I knew loved me and that if I chose a path of sin again, it would be the end of us. Not because we didn’t love each other, but because it would hurt too much to remain together after what I’d done. More importantly, I had come too far on my journey as a Christian woman to give up. What would have been the point of all I’d learned, all God had done to restore me and take the wounds from my past and show me how to use them in stories that could encourage and bring hope to other women?
I recently listened to a podcast by Beth Moore titled Reaping Sheaves of Joy, and part way through Part 3, Beth touches on Isaiah 61:4 “They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.” And her words reminded me that God won’t leave us as rubble. He wants us to rebuild and become new again. He wants what’s best, but we have to choose to believe it. We have to be willing to cry out and ask for help, to remind Him (and ourselves) of what he’s already done in our lives and refuse to give in to the lie of defeat and hopelessness.
Then we can begin again, sewing seeds to the gardens of our hearts while we rebuild our faith brick by brick. I imagine a solid, yet lived in brick home surrounded by strong vines and hearty flowers, trees and plants. Both the home and the garden require care, occasional repair, and regular weeding and pruning by the ultimate Builder and Gardener in order to thrive and survive.