Are you sailing on a crumbling ship? I am. I spent most of my life away from God, and in that time, I created some major devastation and ruins. When I hear the word ruins, I imagine an old city out in the middle of the desert with crumbling walls where owls and coyotes make their homes. A place that in its former day was green and new and beautiful and bustling with people and prosperity, but some calamity befell it, and now after years of neglect, it is just a pile of rocks.
Do you ever feel like your life is just a one big crumbling ruin? Do you ever feel like you’ve made so many mistakes, all you’ve got left is a broken-down ship with huge holes in the hull and torn sails? Well, I’ve often felt that way. I spent years away from God doing “my own thing,” thinking that I knew better than my Creator what was best for me. Yeah, right. How dumb is that?
So, when I look back at my life, here’s what I see. The crumbling hull of a failed marriage; the tarnished brass of ruined relationships; chipped, broken splinters of my children and grandchildren instead of tall, sturdy masts; and a pile of sludge and bilge filled with regrets and shame.
There’s nothing I can do about my ruins now. What happened, happened. What I did has been forgiven, thank God, but I can’t go back. I must learn to live with the consequences of my actions. I must learn to live with my ruins.
But then . . . I came across these verses in Isaiah:
And the Lord shall guide you continually and satisfy you in drought and in dry places and make strong your bones. And you shall be like a watered garden and like a spring of water whose waters fail not.
And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of buildings that have laid waste for many generations; and you shall be called Repairer of the Breach, Restorer of Streets to Dwell In (Isaiah 58:11–12 AMP).
And they shall rebuild the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former desolations and renew the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations (Isaiah 61:4 AMP).
And it hit me: God doesn’t leave those ancient ruins there to rot. Maybe He leaves them there for a time to remind us that we need Him, to remind us of our mistakes so we never want to go back. But after we are past the point where we’ll ever turn away from God and where we are walking close with Him, He begins a renovation project that will blow you away! He takes all that mess you created and rebuilds it into a better ship than before, a faster ship, a stronger ship, a more beautiful ship. He creates new legacy for you from the ashes.
You know what? I’m looking back on my ruins now, and I’m starting to see my Father picking up the pieces and rebuilding the ship of my life the way He intended it to be. He started in my heart. He’s working on my family, and He’s moved me into His will for my life. Now, I can’t wait to see the finished project.
So, if your ship has sprung a leak, if your hull has a few cracks, don’t despair. God is in the business of rebuilding the ancient ruins!
MaryLu Tyndall