Rebuilding the Ruins – Continued
In Weeping for the Broken part 4a, we discovered that the first place that rebuilding began was at the Sheep Gate which represents repairing our relationship with Jesus. This is the first thing that must happen in order for our restoration to be successful. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. As we began building our relationship with Jesus, and started learning how to listen to His voice, He walked us through the beginning process of building up the boundaries in our lives. Last of all, we saw how the towers that we began building were representative of putting on the armor of God discussed in Ephesians 6. Today, we are continuing where we left off.
The Fish Gate
In Nehemiah 3:3, they begin to rebuild the Fish Gate. Look with me for a moment. It says, “They laid the beams, and set up its doors, and installed its bolts and bars.” (NLT) In personal healing, this is when as we have begun to walk with Jesus, that He begins to establish the principle of service within us. This is where I ended the Weeping for the Broken part 4a.
Follow Me
The Fish Gate is the place where Jesus calls us to follow Him. He has been our Good Shepherd in working in restoring our relationship with Him. Maybe we are still not to that place of complete healing yet. Do you remember when Jesus met with Simon (Peter) and Andrew as they were throwing a net into the water while they were fishing? He invited them to follow Him and He would make them fishers of men.
Rebuilding the ruins of the Fish Gate
While Jesus calls us into this new life of rebuilding the ruins, He begins rebuilding the mental, emotional, and spiritual structure within us. He shows us the love that He has for us and begins setting up divine appointments for us to share how His love is healing us. That’s not all. Can you even imagine what the bolts and bars might be?
The Bars
If you look back at Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 30, there’s this amazing picture of God bringing His people out of oppression and He brings them to a place where He begins telling them about what relationship is with Him. Both of these stories are rebuilding the foundations of a healthy relationship with Jesus and with our neighbors (the people near us at any given time.) I’m going to give these bars another name. They are tools in relational living that are the foundation of living at peace with ourselves, with God, and with others. Some people might refer to them as a type of board of education. This is also the place of learning how to care for ourselves and how it is a protection barring anything or anyone who seeks to do harm.
The Bolts
A modern word for bolt is lock. To ‘bolt the bars of the gates’ is the same thing as saying ‘to lock the doors.’ How do we lock in all this stuff that God is teaching us? We make decisions. When we’ve been through some kind of life experience that has broken us down, we become aware of an indecisive pattern in us and now as we begin getting help with a new foundation in learning how to care for ourselves, we are brought to moments where we find ourselves being faced with decisions about self-protection. Proverbs chapter 4 is all about wisdom and how to get it. Listen to what this father tells his son in verse 13: “Take hold of my instructions; don’t let them go. Guard them, for they are the key to life.”
The Helpers
Not everyone who comes into your life to help you will have the desire to do so even though God is calling on them for that purpose. In Nehemiah chapter 3, verses 4 and 5, we see a list of helpers who have come to rebuild the Fish Gate. In verse 4, we see that the helpers are doing the work that they came to do. However, when we look at verse 5, we see that these other laborers who were called are not working enthusiastically. In fact, they have attitudes that do not reflect the love of Jesus. It states that they are not working with the construction supervisors.
Distractions
People, including leaders in your life, who are not focused on building up their brothers and sisters in Christ, are a distraction. If you experience people who come to help you and they are doing more harm than good, realize that they are distractions from the work that you are working so hard to do for healing and restoration. I have found that I needed to make sure that my focus was not on the people who were not interested in rebuilding a healthy relationship. Instead, I have found that I needed to walk away from those relationships and keep my eyes focused on the plans and purposes that God has revealed to me through His Holy Spirit.
Construction Supervisors
So who are these construction supervisors? These are the people in your life who are for restoration and rebuilding. They are people who are willing to help you rebuild the broken down gates in your life. They are the counselors, pastors, teachers, friends, family, church members who have learned how to help you with kindness, love, and compassion. You will know who these people are when you meet them.
What About Your Fish Gate?
Have you been on a journey of rebuilding the ruins of relationships in your life? How is Jesus leading you? Has He brought you to begin making decisions for yourself in ways that you were not able to before? Has Jesus lead you to begin telling others of the wonderful things He has done for you? Tell me about it in the comments or write to me at [email protected].
