Rebuilding

Tuesday, December 23 2014

On 31 October 2003, 13 year old Bethany Hamilton was attacked by a 14 foot tiger shark while surfing off the North Shore in Hawaii. Bethany survived, but she lost her left arm and more than 60% of her blood in the assault.

As chronicled in the film Soul Surfer, however, Bethany refused to let her new life as an amputee cause her to give up. Instead, she relied on God to give her the strength and confidence she needed.

Bethany´s faith propelled her to continue living with zeal and has inspired people around the world as well (2 Corinthians 1:3-5). Her Testimony reminds me of God´s restorative work found in the book of Nehemiah. Let´s take a look at Bethany´s trip to Thailand, to minister to tsunami survivors : in 2005 thousands of children were orphaned after a tusnami destroyed homes and many lives across the massive Southeast Asia shoreline. Just as Jerusalem lay in ruins (Nehemiah 2:17), a large portion of the coast of Thailand was now in ruins.

Like Nehemiah, who told his people how God had been gracious to him (v.18), Bethany shared with Thai orphans about God´s gracious work in her life. Then, "with surfboard in tow, she slowly walked one trembling 8 year old boy into the breaking waves off the village of Phuket ... After a few moments, she helped the youngster onto the board, and his fear dissolved into a broad smile."

When Nehemiah testified of God´s goodness, the people found hope and exclaimed, "Let´s rebuild the wall" (v.18). Bethany´s faith has inspired many people to rebuild what was broken down.

Today, consider what you can share about God´s work in your life to inspire others and help them move forward victoriously in Jesus. - Roxanne Robbins

Read
Nehemiah 2:1-18
In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before; so the king asked me, "Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart."
I was very much afraid, but I said to the king, "May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?"
The king said to me, "What is it you want?"
Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, "If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city of Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it."
Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, "How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?" It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.
I also said to him, "If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe conduct until I arrive in Judah? And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king´s forest, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?" And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests. So I went to the governors of Trans-Euphrates and gave them the king´s letters. The king had also sent army officers and cavalry with me.
When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites.
I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days I set out during the night with a few men. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on.
By night I went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire. Then I moved on toward the Fountain Gate and the King´s Pool, but there was not enough room for my mount to get through; so I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back and re-entered through the Valley Gate.
The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work.
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." I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me and what the king had said to me.
They replied, "Let us start rebuilding." So they began this good work.

Ezra 9:9
Though we are slaves, our God has not deserted us in our bondage. He has shown us kindness in the sight of the kings of Persia : He has granted us new life to rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, and he has given us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem.

Question to Ponder
What do you need to ask God to rebuild in your life?
How can you share God´s love and restorative power with those around you?

**Article taken from ODJ (Our Daily Journey with God) Dec 2014 - Feb 2015 issue