Walls

Have you ever seen a wall being constructed?  It is a long-term and sometimes tedious process.  When the new band room was being constructed at our school, I was absolutely fascinated at the process of building the limestone exterior wall.  The amount of work that went into measuring, cutting and placing the stones in just the exact way to create that staggered look you see on the outside of so many buildings.  Even building a concrete block or brick wall, though not as tedious with measurements can be very time consuming; laying each layer, first brick, then mortar, brick, mortar, etc. etc. etc.  Today I saw a concrete poured wall being constructed and it reminded me that even these seemingly “quick” types of walls require quite a bit of time with constructing the rebar, filling with gravel, then pouring the concrete.

From the beginning of time, man has constructed many walls, now famous, walls.  There is of course the Great Wall of China, the Berlin Wall, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, all of which remain standing to this day.  The Old Testament recounts the history of another great wall that fell by uncommon acts.  In the sixth chapter of the book of Joshua we read the account of the falling of the Wall of Jericho.  As instructed by the Lord, Joshua led the armies and people of Israel around the walls of Jericho, in silence, each day at sunrise for 6 straight days.  On the seventh day, God commanded them to march around the city seven times with the Priest leading followed by the Ark of the Covenant and the Israelites, unarmed.  On the seventh time around the city they were commanded to blow their trumpets and give a “Shout!”  At the sound of their voices crying, “Teruah” which is Hebrew for shout, the walls of Jericho came crashing down.  I can imagine their stunned faces at the crashing down of this large stone wall with an act of such small magnitude.  Simply marching and then shouting.  WOW!  What amazing faith in God was exhibited in this simple act.

Human beings often build walls in their lives in the same long-term fashion as those constructed of stone and mortar.  Walls of different types are built in the human heart to “protect” us from the outside world and those who have hurt or lied to us, mistreated us or caused us or people we love harm.  Humans also build walls because of our own shameful acts; mistrust of others, anger, revenge, hate, the list is endless.  There are probably even people who have walls built to block others because of some act committed against their family from many years ago.  How many times have you heard somebody say, “Well I just like that person because my Grandfather told   me what their family did to your great-great-great Granddad.”  No kidding there, I have heard these words myself from people.  How absurd is that?  Brick by brick, layer after layer, the walls grow higher and higher until the love of Jesus you are so desperately seeking cannot penetrate your hardened exterior. 

Are you fighting some walls in your life right now?  Who or what helped build your walls?  For years I had walls built up about the choices I made as a young adult.  I blamed others, my circumstances, even my own parents for the bad choices I made.  A wall of resentment and shame was built in my heart, keeping me from the Jesus who wanted so bad to love me.  I was hardened and coarse to others and blind to the addictions I had sunk myself into.  Unable to help myself and lacking in any self-confidence, I finally saw the good that God had for me if I would just let go and LET GOD!!!  I quit trying to bust the wall down on my own using man-made weapons.  What happened next was indescribable.  The freedom in the crashing down of my walls was divinely liberating.  And now I am a new person, IN CHRIST!!!

Perhaps you need to lay down your “weapons” and start “marching.” Stop hitting the wall and try waiting, walking with no talking.  Trust God to deliver you out of your situation without YOU doing anything.  God wants you to use your faith in HIM to crash down your walls.  While our humanness makes us want to run and attack, God says walk and be quite.  As stated by our speaker on Sunday, Greg Gordon, “It’s not easy playing second fiddle to the Holy Spirit.”  It is our natural born tendency to solve our own problems, build and destroy our own walls.  But too often the walls we are building go unnoticed, unchecked, until they are so high and strong we have become hard and unyielding for God to use us.  I mean have you ever tried to make something out of dried Play-doh?  It is impossible.  It gets hard and then when you try to mold and shape it sometimes falls apart.  That is what a heart surrounded by walls is like to God.  He cannot make you into the person He planned for you to be when you’re no pliable!!  God cannot even get to the soft part of your heart if the Great Wall of China has been re-built there!!

Whatever your walls are constructed of does not matter.  The wrecking ball is Jesus Christ and he can destroy your walls with just a simple, easy act.  We just have to be silent and listen to HIS instructions, then just like the Israelites give a loud “TERUAH” and the walls will come tumbling down!!!

In Christ, Amanda

PS – I hope you are able to play the embedded song, but if not, here are the words for you to at least read.  Sing along if it plays!!  J

Healing Begins

Tenth Avenue North

So you thought you had to keep this up
All the work that you do
So we think that you're good
And you can't believe it's not enough
All the walls you built up
Are just glass on the outside

So let 'em fall down
There's freedom waiting in the sound
When you let your walls fall to the ground
We're here now

This is where the healing begins, oh
This is where the healing starts
When you come to where you're broken within
The light meets the dark
The light meets the dark

Afraid to let your secrets out
Everything that you hide
Can come crashing through the door now
But too scared to face all your fear
So you hide but you find
That the shame won't disappear

So let it fall down
There's freedom waiting in the sound
When you let your walls fall to the ground
We're here now
We're here now, oh

This is where the healing begins, oh
This is where the healing starts
When you come to where you're broken within
The light meets the dark
The light meets the dark

Sparks will fly as grace collides
With the dark inside of us
So please don't fight
This coming light
Let this blood come cover us
His blood can cover us

This is where the healing begins, oh
This is where the healing starts
When you come to where you're broken within
The light meets the dark
The light meets the dark