In this life, brokenness is inevitable—but it doesn’t have to be permanent. Just ask Nehemiah.

Though Nehemiah and his people were in captivity in Babylon, Nehemiah himself had a cushy job in the king’s palace (Nehemiah 1:11). Life was good.

Then word came that God’s people were suffering in Jerusalem. The walls were broken down. The people lacked protection (1:3).

God called Nehemiah to return and lead the rebuilding. But rebuilding requires tools. God not only gave Nehemiah the tools he needed but also made Nehemiah into the tool He would use to rebuild the walls and gates of Jerusalem.

You, too, are a tool in the hand of the Master Designer. Even with brokenness in your life, He can still use you to accomplish His purposes, but He also supplies you with what you need to accomplish the job set out for you. He can use the things you would never dream to bring about beautiful results. Your greatest pain or weakness, regrets or mistakes—all can become tools of rebuilding. Even your own brokenness can be a tool that God uses to bring a deeper level of wholeness in your own life or the life of another.

Nehemiah and his crew rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem in a miraculous fifty-two days. And when the enemies of God saw, “they were frightened and humiliated. They realized this work had been done with the help of our God” (6:16 NLT).

God has a beautiful plan for your life. He wants to rebuild in and through you so all will see what God has worked. The design will be greater than you would have imagined, and God will supply every tool you need to accomplish it. Be on the lookout for the tools God is providing. Don’t resist what He may be using, even if the work is hard. And make yourself available to be that tool that He can use to repair and restore what is broken in the people you encounter and the places you go today.