A few days after Christmas, I assessed our situation. It was Monday, and I hadn't decided when we would start up homeschooling again after a few day's Christmas break.
I looked around at the after-Christmas clutter in our bedrooms, the decorations that needed to be stored and put away, and at the general disorder around me.
And I decided that we needed to "clear the rubble" before we began to "build the wall" again.
It would be difficult and frustrating to delve into our studies when there was so much "build-up" all around us. And so I told my two children (much to their delight), that we would be taking a few days to clean and organize before we delved back into our books.
We needed to clear the rubble before building the wall.
Then Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is failing, and there is so much rubbish that we are not able to build the wall.”
Nehemiah 4:10 NKJV
Isn't this true in our lives? The "walls" of whatever it that the Lord has called us to need to be built. They need to be physically or figuratively built; they need to be spiritually built and strengthened through prayer. The walls need to be built.
What has God called you to build, friend? Is it the spiritual foundation of your family? Is it the strengthening of your devotional life? Is it a ministry or a special project that He has placed upon your heart? What walls are you building? And are they surely the "walls" that the Lord has called you to build?
I've found, so many times in my own life that I need to STOP and re-access what I am building. Did the Lord really call me to a project or to an endeavor, or am I building the "walls" of my own fancy and design?
When He HAS indeed called me to a project or to a work, is there clear ground around my feet, or "rubble" that I may trip over and "mess up" the wall that He has called me to build? This "rubble" may take on many shapes and forms--it may be distractions--spiritual or physical distractions that need to be "cleaned up" and dealt with. It may be a besetting sin that "trips us up" and needs to be repented of at the foot of the cross. It may be the "extra clutter" of things and activities that the Lord has not called us to and doesn't want us to pursue, even if in appearance they seem like a "good" thing. As Oswald Chambers says, "Beware of the good that is the enemy of the best."
Clear out the rubble, friend. Tidy up your spiritual house. Deal with things quickly with the Lord. Keep short accounts.
And then "tidy up" your physical house. Has the Lord called you to eat in a healthier way to serve Him better? Clean out your refrigerator; get those offending foods out! Has He called you to wake up a little earlier to spend time with Him? Has He called you to go to bed a little earlier so that you may serve Him better during the day?
Has He called you to "show hospitality?" Give your kids a dusting rag and a broom and together physically clean out the rooms in your home. It will be easier to fulfill His calling when we are obedient to Him in the day to day "tidying" of our homes.
Has He called you to take the spiritual lead in your home? Dust that Bible off--pick out a good family devotional and clear that rubble of kid's complaining and "lack of time," and pursue the spiritual growth of your home with the simple spiritual "tools" that the Lord has given to us--a Bible, and hymnal, and a mind that can memorize God's Word and hide it in our hearts.
We don't need all the extra things-the "rubble" is holding us back.
In the summertime, often my kids will try to start building something in the sandbox while all the other sand toys are lying around and cluttering up the project area. I often tell them--"you can't build with all of this clutter; clean it out first."
And how true this is for us as well! So come before the Lord. If you can kneel, do so--if not, spread out your hands to Him and ask Him what it is that He has called you to do. Make a list. Get rid of the things that He hasn't called you to, that are just the "rubble" of an extra burden or activity.
And then get up and build. He has given you the tools. He has given you His Spirit. He will strengthen your hands and your heart. And through your obedience, you will know His smile and pleasure.
Strengthen the weak hands,
And make firm the feeble knees.
Say to those who are fearful-hearted,
“Be strong, do not fear!
Isaiah 35:3-4a NKJV
Book Recommendation--this is an excellent one to start off the new year--
