Well, the feedback from the post last week was overwhelming! :-/  However, I was just reminded by James that “…we consider blessed those who persevere…”, so I am going to pursue the blessing.

In a more serious tone, I just finished studying the dedication of the wall around Jerusalem in Nehemiah 12 and once again I was awestruck by the beauty of God reflected by His people in community.  It is difficult for me to approach a narrative in the Bible without trying to imagine being there.  And, as I thought about the celebration that took place during the dedication of the rebuilt wall, I couldn’t help but think about the stories that must have been shared that day.

The threats and fears the people faced early in the reconstruction of Jerusalem’s wall must have been overwhelming.  The courage displayed by the leaders in that community was nothing short of exemplary.  Day by day, they worked to construct the new wall for the glory of God and watched as their fears and disgrace melted away with each stone that was set in place.  Can you imagine how their faith grew as they shared and heard stories of how their Great God prospered their mission?  Can you imagine the sense of community that developed to the glory of God one story at a time.

Over the past several months, I shared stories of how our Great God rescued me from the near ruin of burn-out and depression.  Since then, others have shared by email or cards some of their stories with me. As a result a sense of true community, the kind that calls us out of the shadows of isolation to the healing light of God’s great love, is starting to develop.  In this kind of  community, we never feel like we are the only one who struggles or fails because we share these experiences in common.  In addition, our Great God continues to meet us in some special ways including our day of repentance last week.

Let’s not stop here!  Let’s celebrate the great work of God in our lives by sharing some of our stories.  Do you have a story that reveals the work of God in your life?  Will you share it here, or on our Facebook page under the “discussions” tab?  Let’s give thanks to our Great God with one voice as one community through our stories for His love endures forever!

Love you all,

tim

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 4:15 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.