Thought for the day – Monday 27 April

Thought for the day - Monday 27 April
Dear Reader
Walls are ‘man-made’ constructions and serve many purposes. We are familiar with the many walled gardens in existence throughout the country, an attractive and functional feature of many stately homes and estates. These gardens, many which we have no doubt visited through the National Trust for Scotland or its equivalent in England, The National Trust. They are nice places to visit to get a glimpse of how some privileged folk lived in the past, some still do of course. Hopefully, we will be able to visit them again soon.
Apart from walled gardens, there are other types of wall serving quite different purposes. There are, for example, retaining walls, dividing walls and defensive walls, to mention just a few. There are some famous ones too. The great wall of China comes to mind, the historic walls of Jericho, Erwin Rommel’s WW2 Atlantic wall and though now not in existence, the infamous Berlin wall. Perhaps you can think of others.
We are all existing today as if surrounded by an invisible wall, like some sci-fi forcefield that prevents us from getting too close to one another. This space, however, only exists if we chose to make it so. It is a psychological barrier and can be breached at any time, but we keep this ‘wall’ in place for the time being for each other’s and our own good. There are many hugs, back slaps, kisses and handshakes to come.
There is a lot of rebuilding to be done in our lives from the damage that has been done. The effects and cause need no explanation. We have all been affected. In our own particular situations, some ‘things’ may have been damaged beyond repair. In the main, however, much can and will be re-established. Global economies, businesses, relationships too have all suffered.
Like the rubble that Nehemiah found when he surveyed his beloved city, so too we will all have to tread tentatively and carefully to assess and survey the damage and then eventually set about rebuilding.
If you read the book of Nehemiah I think you will get a sense of the difficulties he faced, but he believed that God would help him and he did.
God will help us too in whatever situation we find ourselves. We may be in ‘ruins’ of our own making or that of others but out of chaos God brought order and light and it was good.
Today I ask you to think/meditate on these things
God bless you!

Jim

JBoag@churchofscotland.org.uk

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 ancestors 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 favour in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors 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 royal park, 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 on 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 others. 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 reentered 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 on me and what the king had said to me.

They replied, “Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work.

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