Ever heard of an ordained city? Ever heard of a city
doused in the very blessings of God, let alone man? Well, there is a city out
there, and it’s been around for quite some time. In fact, it is considered the
“City of the Great King.” Psalm 87:5 (NLT) claims “The Most High will
personally bless this city.” Zechariah 8:3 quotes the Lord, saying, “I am
returning to Mount Zion, and I will live in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be
called the Faithful City.”
Wow. A
city ordained by God himself; truly remarkable.
Another reference in Scripture that connects the dots
between Jerusalem and God’s favor is Hebrews 12:22: “You have come to Mount
Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.” In other words,
Mt. Zion rests in the city of Jerusalem and is synonymous with God’s dwelling
place. As a matter of fact, Barnes’ Notes Commentary suggests that “Jerusalem
was the center of religion in the land; the place where the temple stood, and
where the worship of God was celebrated, and where God dwelt as a visible
symbol, and it became the type and emblem of the holy abode where He dwells in
heaven.”
Jerusalem was a symbol of God’s inhabitance and
protection over the city, and since God dwelt in the city of Jerusalem, His
constant care is over it. Isaiah 49:16: “See I have written your name in the
palms of my hands. Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins.”
This
land, the mighty land of Jerusalem, is where God’s temple stood. It was home to
God our Father. It does not matter its condition because God was still watching
over His beloved city. Shambles or no shambles, God loves his city more than
words can express. The city is not beautiful because of its condition, but
because of who loves it. He would never leave it nor forsake it.
Most
of the time, our circumstances seem bigger, taller, and more powerful than
ours. We lose sight of what’s good because our circumstances destroy us. We are
in ruins. We are wrecked, beaten, and torn down from head to heart. Every piece
of us is shattered, just like Jerusalem.
Pop singer and songwriter Mat Kearney sings a
song titled, “Renaissance.” Near the end of verse two, Kearney sings,
“Humbled, it took this much to
break down and understand, Spent half my life on castles made of sand,
Tossed in the breakers in the palm of
your hand
Now I can finally stand”
Now, whether Mat Kearney was singing with Isaiah
49:16 in mind, it is clear he is trying to communicate that through his own
unfortunate ruins (“castles made of sand, tossed in the breakers”), he can
still rest “in the palm of [God’s] hand” and finally stand…whether shattered or
not.
Often, our perspective of God gets skewed when there
is so much “bad stuff” going on around us. Sometimes, our perspective comes in
the shape of an outstretched fist, clenched accusingly in God’s direction. “Why
would God allow this to happen?”
We might not always get a response we want, but every
time we doubt, accuse, and blame our Almighty God, we are the ones with the wrong perspective. Romans 8:28-29 declares,
“And we know that
God causes everything to work together for the good of those who
love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in
advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the
firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”
This is a promise, and whether we are in ruins or not, we can know without a
shadow of a doubt that the God is watching over us no matter what.
It might take every part of you to break down and
understand, as Mat Kearney suggests. You might be so broken, battered, and
bitter, but God sees you where you’re at and has you in the palm of His hand.
He is yours, and he loves you with a fierce love that transcends our ruins and
builds them strong.
God doesn’t see your ruins as a reason to reject or
deject you, but an opportunity for resurrection and reconstruction in Him.
Those weak points, those crumbled walls, predicate your victory in him and through him. That's where beauty comes from - your need for him (you are ruined) to resurrect your city (he is sovereign).
And sometimes, it is those very walls that build you
up. In fact, those broken, beaten, and battered walls could be the very
structures that help you stand stronger than you did before. Who says God can’t
retract beauty from those ashes?
That's the paradox of love that we must accept. After all, it is those ruins
that are what create a palace in the first place.