Rebuild, Raise Up, Repair

Isaiah 61:4 (NKJV) 
⁴  And they shall rebuild the old ruins, They shall raise up the former desolations,And they shall repair the ruined cities,The desolations of many generations.


If you look at the context of this verse the "they" is identified in verse in three as "trees of righteousness" planted by the Lord. In your community and church God has planted His people rooting them deeply to glorify Him through their ministry. People who labor, pray, love, serve, give, sacrifice and persevere. 

In many such places there is much ministry to be done. Sometimes it feels like the church is not making much impact on pagan society. In fact, many churches struggle. Attendance is down. Morale is low. The finances are lacking. Hope flees. Volunteers are hard to find. Members ebb out like water from a bucket with a hole in it. 

In some areas it looks hopeless. It might even feel hopeless. Then God handpicks one of His own and plants them in the soil of that community or in some local congregation. He calls them to rebuild, raise up and repair. 

Building is hard. Rebuilding is hard too. Foundations have to be laid or repaired. Foundation is critical. For many bodies of believers firm foundations were not put in place. In the beginning all seemed fine. In time things began to crumble because foundation did not stand up over time. 

I have never seen a remodel job that did not prove more costly and time consuming than originally planned. Unexpected variables always arise. I am not saying it never happens. I am just saying I have never seen it. New construction is easier. It is better to get it right the first time. Even in the best situations things can deteriorate over time. Members age and die off. Key leaders move away. Neighborhoods and communities change. What worked for years suddenly is no longer effective. Traditions are entrenched. Possessiveness takes root. 

Some are gifted to build. Some are rebuilders. Both are needed when it comes to churches. Builders plant new churches. They have a specialized set of skills. The rebuilder also has unique stills to help declining and dying churches. 

The work of raising up is not easy either. You have to raise up people with vision who can see the dream of the future God wants. These must look through eyes of faith past what they see in front of their eyes. To see a new community and a thriving church. A new culture must be raised. Along with all of that new leaders need to be trained and put in key places. These are the ones who can keep the vision in front of the people. These are the volunteers who labor even when they are tired. They choose to give rather than receive. They serve rather than get served. 

In a lot of churches the leaders have fallen. They lost heart somewhere along the way. They got knocked down by adversity and have been unable to regain steady ground to stand firmly. In a community many are fallen into patterns of sinful choices. God plants people to help lift them up from their sinful squalor to put them on solid ground. These trees of righteousness come along side the unlovable and love them to Jesus. They present the gospel. They persevere through various set backs. 

Many repairs also have to be made. How many communities are wounded from racism, addictions, division, cliquishness along with criminal activities. I am thinking of inner cities, oil fields, urban areas infiltrated with gangs and rural communities where sin abounds as well. God plants people in these wounded areas to start the repairing process. They mend broken relationships between factions. They help recover and restore the addicts. They fortify places of refuge where dead churches used to exist. 

Not easy work. Not work for the faint of heart. I don't know where God has planted you or where He may choose to plant you in the future. I don't the condition of your community or church. I wonder if you will be part of rebuilding, raising up and repairing. Maybe you will choose to run from those hard places to places where someone has gone before you to do the hard work. If you are in one of those good places take a moment and look around. Who did God plant there to do the rebuilding, raising and repairing? If He plants you to do that work stay at it. Let Him plant you deeply like a tree of righteousness. Once He plants you labor to make a difference.