Hope and Renewal

Isaiah 61:4

They will rebuild the ancient ruins; they will restore formerly deserted places; they will renew ruined cities, places deserted in generations past.

This verse speaks to me in so many ways. Of course, the prophecy was fulfilled many times throughout biblical history for God’s people. But I think about times in our own recent history as Americans and in my own personal life that we pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps and rebuilt, with God’s help.

The Civil War laid waste to so much of our country. Particularly in the south where so much of the economy was based on agriculture and slave labor. Not only was there immediate devastation to infrastructure like roads, bridges, factories and farms, But with the loss of so much skilled labor it was difficult to gain the momentum to rebuild. Ultimately , we were able to not only recover but to thrive.

Recently, the damage from Helene caused so much destruction to our region and displaced so many of our brothers and sisters, you could only weep when you saw it. I have been heartened by the images of neighbors pulling together to help each other rebuild roads, bridges and homes. We are gradually restoring much of which has been lost.

Not only does this verse speak of physical restoration, I think it speaks about spiritual renewal. In my personal life, my husband and I suffered a loss of a job in a place where we had recently moved and weren’t fully part of a church community. The very day that he lost his job, we had two women visit us from a church we had recently visited. I was in tears when I answered the door, but these women came in and comforted me in a way that I knew God had sent them. That became a turning point in my relationship with the Lord. I am so thankful that God spoke through these two women and gave us hope to rebuild our life, stronger and sweeter than ever.

Let us pray:

Dear Heavenly Father, Help us to understand that in times of destruction, there is an opportunity to rise from the ashes. You give us the strength and ability that we need and we are so very thankful for You and Your loving presence.

This devotion was written by Virginia Hardwick and read by Joey Smith.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.