Ezekiel 36:33-36 33 “Thus says the Lord God: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt. 34 And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by.35 And they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ 36 Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the Lord; I have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.
Have you ever seen a building fall into disrepair after it has been abandoned? Maybe you passed by it during your commute and watched as the years took their toll: windows broke, paint peeled, and bricks crumbled. Our usual response it to think that someone should just knock it down. We should clear that space so that something new and clean can replace it. We saw no value in something so run down.
Thankfully, there are people who see past the shabbiness. They look past the dirt and grime and see that this building has good bones. It can be refreshed and renewed, it just takes a little time and effort. After this place that was in ruins has been restored our amazement grows. This is what God wants to do in our lives!
Most of us only look at people the way they are right now. We only see the flaws and the shortcomings and think “that person is a desolate waste.” But we serve a God that saw past that desolation in us. God took someone others had forsaken and turned them from hopeless to hope-filled. We can be amazed at the work that God has done.
God will rebuild the ruined places and turn our wastelands into fortified and inhabited lands.