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For the Lord has built up Zion; He has appeared in His glory [Psalm 102:16]. A new year – a new beginning. And it will see the Lord building up Zion, that is you and I, His children, as a demonstration of His glory. It is His word of promise at the beginning of this new year, that it may wipe the slate clean of all the pain and hurt of past troubles, to remain with you not just this year, but in all your coming years even as you receive it in humility and faith. As a child of the Most High God, you can look ahead with hope that will never be cut off, to know that surely and most certainly there will be a good future.
For, even as you are thankful, eternally grateful unto God to be at the threshold of a new year, it could also be a sense of foreboding, lack and uncertainty, that lurks in your soul, for the past year has certainly brought it’s share of woe in our lives. But, our times are in His Hands. And the appointed time has come, when He will arise to show His mercy and gracious favor to you, in your personal life, in your family relationships, and above all in your spiritual walk, in your quiet time with Him, each and every day, and also as you gather together to worship Him in spirit and in truth, as a church family. He is the God of restoration, who is even now working behind the scene, building you up to take you to the place where He wants you to be, your divine destination.
And the narratives in the scriptures, even as the psalm above is, will keep you and I from lamenting and magnifying our own problems, to be led into self pity and despair. Instead you will know that in the midst of it all, the light of God’s word, His precious promises, can dispel all darkness, to lead you in the path of progress. For the entire psalm is the prayer of an afflicted person, describing initially the pain and pathos of it, to move on to glorious hope, that can be your portion too.
Sad; lonely, dry; restless :
It was what the psalmist was experiencing in his being, because of his very troubling circumstances, and one can very well identify with it, having been through an unprecedented crisis that the entire world is struggling to cope with right now. Indeed, last year saw a storm raging in the hearts of almost everybody, and the billows and waves have not subsided completely yet! The psalmist was at a very challenging and painful point in his life, and describes it poignantly to give a very clear picture of it, and one can identify with it very well, His days were full of trouble and sorrow [vs 2]. His heart was distressed, felt dry and withered [vs 4].
A feeling of restlessness was what occupied his inner being, a sense of being in the wilderness [vs 6]. And his feeling of loneliness he expresses in likening himself to a lonely sparrow on the housetop [vs 7]. It was David’s story, at a period of his life that saw the enemy coming against him to pull him down. And discouragement coupled with fear of the enemy was what made Gideon, chosen by God to be a judge over His people, threshing wheat in a most unsuitable place, hiding in a wine cellar.
A mighty warrior was how the Angel of the Lord addressed him though, as God saw what he would eventually become as he fulfilled God’s plan for his life. But at that point, Gideon’s rejoinder was to question why negative things were happening to God’s chosen people; [Judges 6:11-13]. The psalmist had his own questions and doubts too regarding the working of God in his life [Psalm 77]. You and I are certainly not alone when questions rise up within us, when life suddenly becomes turbulent and dangerous.
But You, O Lord …:
Yet it is then that focusing and keeping your eyes upon the God whose eye is continually upon you to watch over you, and provide all that you need, will birth within you a godly perspective that will bring about a marvelous change within you, to keep you from frustration and disillusionment. It was the psalmist’s experience as he turned his attention towards God, and away from his affliction and pain to say, My days, O Lord, are like a shadow that lengthens; I wither away like grass; But You, O Lord endure forever [vs 11,12].
And you will move on to knowing that even as the apostle Paul has declared, you have a God who causes all things to work together for your God. It can be your confidence when you know that you love Him, and have been called according to His purposes [Romans 8:28]. Therefore, though it may be a very challenging and difficult thing to do, when the fact that we live in a fallen world plagued by problems and pestilences is becoming more and more obvious, turn your eyes upon Jesus, as you begin this new year, to keep Him as the center of your life, and surround yourself with the promises of God, that are yes and Amen in Him You will find that indeed Christ is enough, and His grace is sufficient for you.
Human tendency on the other hand will be to keep yourself in the center, and surround yourself with your problems, and that would be disastrous. It is why coming into the house of God, to hear from Him, shutting out the voices of the world that clamor to take you in the wrong direction, away from the purposes of God, becomes so vitally important. For it is in a godly environment that a change in your perspective, concerning all the negative prognosis, a shift in your thinking towards what is higher and positive can arise in you, which will eventually bring about a change in your challenging circumstance. You will look ahead expecting God to work favorably in your life, for like the psalmist, you will know that, The appointed time has come, You will arise and have compassion on Zion; For it is time to be gracious to her; For the appointed time has come [vs 13]. The apostle Paul elaborates upon the specifics of it in his letter to the Corinthians, For He says, ‘ At a favorable time I listened to you; and on a day of salvation I helped you; Behold now is a favorable time, now is the day of salvation [2 Corinthians 6:2].
Today is the day of salvation, for it is when you hear and acknowledge the truth of God’s word to receive it in your heart by faith that change begins to take place in you, signifying the arrival of the appointed time. And the very fact that even now you are seated in the Lord’s presence, and hearing from Him is an indicator of it. And though externally it may not seem to be a favorable time right now, when you could be wondering how the Lord is going to be gracious to you, you only need to remind yourself that you serve a God of compassion.
As He entered the city of Nain, along with His disciples, and the crowd following Him, it was a procession with Christ at it’s head. And coming towards them was a procession of grief and sadness, with the only son of a widow being carried to his grave. And the Lord in His compassion, in love and comfort said to her ‘Do not weep’ and then did what would remove the reason for her tears. He said ‘Young man, I say to you, arise’ and the son of the widow was miraculously restored back to life! [Luke 7:11-15].
The compassion of God will see Him intervene in your life’s painful circumstance, that could be one of painful loss, to bring restoration that will flood your heart with overwhelming joy. It is the appointed time, when He will build you up in glorious power that you may fulfill His purpose for your life. For the Lord has built up Zion; He has appeared in His glory [vs 16]. Even now, He is working behind the scenes, is the truth that you will gradually come to realize, in the upcoming days and years of your life. It is how He demonstrates His love for you, His church.
He is already building :
And neither pandemic or persecution can stand against His powerful word, the word of promise that He has already spoken, that He will build His church, and the gates of hell shall not overcome it [Matthew 16:18]. It can be likened to the setting of the marriage covenant, when the man and the woman pledge their love in a covenant in the sight of God by saying ‘I will’ to become husband and wife, and remain so no matter what comes in life. Sadly it does not always happen, but also it is a scenario that can never arise when it comes to the Lord’s word of promise. When God says ‘I will”, it is HIS will; and He most certainly will ! You are His church; and He will build you. Even in unfavorable circumstances, He will do a wonderful work of grace in you, that will in time see a marvelous change in the outworking of your life, that will see you acknowledge with thanksgiving that it is all the Lord’s doing.
It has been rightly said that the God’s love for you is greater than your faith in Him. And it is true concerning every child of God, for he has chosen to believe in the Lord Jesus, to be his personal Savior. He loves you with an everlasting love, immeasurably vast and overwhelming. And He has said that He will build His church, the body of which, you and I are. Therefore….
a. He builds – individual lives :
A wonderful example of it is seen in the life of Peter, the Lord’s disciple who had the blessing of receiving a revelation concerning Jesus that He was the Son of God. It was a truth that the Lord commended to say that He will build His church on it, and the gates of hell will not overcome it [Matthew 16:15-18].
1. A question of love :
But Peter later on miserably failed. And he in brokenness wept, after he had denied the Lord thrice. To Peter it was as if it was the end of the road. But the Lord reached out to him after His resurrection to build him up, demonstrating His glory. He chose to do it in the way of love, making Himself voluntarily and willingly vulnerable, as He asked, ‘Simon, do you love me?”, Even in your time of failure, when you think there is no hope left for you, that you are irrevocably damaged, it is the one question that the Lord asks you, as He comes to restore and build you. There are no terms and conditions involved, about your ensuing behavior, before He offers it to you.
And Peter’s reply says it all, ‘Lord you know that I love you’ [John 21:17]. It was honest to the core, with no pretense or elaboration, showing clearly that the flame was still burning in him. And the Lord then displayed His trust by saying, ‘Feed my lambs’. It was a responsibility. Restoration always comes with a responsibility. In fact, true repentance is taking up responsibility. But the key question that you need to ask yourself is, whether you love Him. And, God will cause all things to work together for good, for He has called you, to fulfill His purpose in your life. He will build you up.
2. A question of trust :
And it is not only about you, as an individual. For the Lord desires to do much more, as he builds you. It is seen in the lives of Ruth and Naomi, who having lost all the male members in their family, thought they could never flourish again in life. And this past year when a small virus has attacked so virulently has seen tremendous heartbreak and loss of loved ones in so many families. Children have been suddenly orphaned, with a future uncertain and bleak.
Naomi came back with Ruth, not knowing how they were going to survive. But the Lord worked in their lives miraculously to build their lives as a family. For the Lord’s promise of protection and provision came to Ruth, in the words of Boaz, The Lord repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel under whose wings, you have come for refuge [Ruth 2:12]. And it saw their lives built up gloriously by the Lord Almighty, to ultimately find a place in the genealogy of Jesus, who became their Rewarder and Restorer.
Then the women said to Naomi, ‘Blessed be the Lord who has not left you this day without a close relative, and may his name be famous in Israel’ [Ruth 4;14]. And the key to it all was a trust in the Lord. It is what can be the factor that changes the circumstances of your life, to be built up by Him, you and your family, as He demonstrates His glory. Trust and obey, there is no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey, says the timeless melody in very simple, straightforward terms.
3. A question of obedience :
And in doing so, one can see in the scriptures how a person who thought he knew it all, but was going in the wrong direction was built up as God made a supernatural intervention. It was what happened in the life of the apostle Paul, who was at that point, a zealous pharisee, with misguided passions and misplaced priorities. But the Lord intervened in his life, on the Damascus road and his life was turned around to be radically changed and built up [Acts 9:1-6 ]. What lay at the foundation of it were the two questions that came from him. And on knowing it was the Lord Jesus, he just had one thing that he wanted to know, in order to walk in it in obedience.
Lord, what do you want me to do? Paul obeyed the Lord’s mighty call upon his life, was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. And let this shift in your thought process happen at the start of this new year, for it is the key to being built up by the Lord, as a demonstration of His grace. Therefore, instead of coming to the Lord for His blessing upon your self made plans, let your question be ‘Lord, what do you want me to do?’ for He has a plan for your life that nothing else can equal. And in loving fellowship with Him, as you seek to know where to start and how to proceed in the path that He has prepared for you, He will build you, demonstrating His gracious glory. And as the apostle has prayed, you can draw near to the Father, from whom you now derive your family Name!
b. He builds up – families :
For this reason, I bow my knees unto the Father, From whom every family in heaven and on earth derives it’s name [Ephesians 3:14,15]. Father indicates a precious relationship, of being part of His family. The church is the Family of God, the Father. And when Christ has declared ‘I will build My church’ it is that He will build His Family, When you are a child of God, you are reckoned, counted, called to be God’s family with a glorious family Name that is ‘in Christ’. How great is the love that God, our Heavenly Father has lavished upon us that we should be called the children of God, writes the apostle John [1 John 3:1].
And it is in a love established in a covenant relationship, that He is your God ‘For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord, I will put My laws in their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people [Hebrews 8:10]. He will be your God, your Father, and you will be His child, His people. It is the will of God, ratified in a covenant. And the new covenant is what you celebrate as you partake of the Lord’s Table, His Body broken for you, and His Blood shed for you. And when you believe, you and your household, your family will be saved is the powerful promise of God [Acts 16;31].
He is the God of, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; your God, the God of your children, and your children’s children, the God of generations. He will certainly build you as a family. Salvation, the sum total of all the blessings of God, in Christ, by the Spirit will indeed be your portion. And your worry concerning a family member who is yet to be saved, can be cast aside to receive His bounteous promise, and with faith await it’s fulfillment. When you believe that He can do it, His irresistible grace will draw the person to Him, while applying force will lead only to an irritation that would be counter productive.
But as Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost, all you need to do is to stand on the promise that salvation is for you and your children and all those who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call [Acts 2:39]. And, not a word failed of any good thing that the Lord spoke concerning the house of Israel. All came to pass [Joshua 21:45]. It was the testimony of Joshua, in the promised land. And it will be yours, for the Lord will build your family and demonstrate His glory. Those who seek Him shall lack no good thing. He will enrich your life to abundantly satisfy your every need, as He builds you and builds your family, builds His church, builds the family of Zion. The Lord has been mindful of us; He will bless us, as a family [Psalm 115:12]. Oh give thanks unto the Lord, for His mercy endures forever [Psalm 118:1]. We bless you, O Lord, we give thanks unto thee as a family.
Blessed be the Lord out of Zion, Who dwells in Jerusalem [Psalm 135:21]. We thank thee, Father, for your word of blessing; may Your Kingdom come. And may we be built in every area of our lives, our children taught by the Lord, and our food and water be blessed to remove all sickness, that we may do what You have already appointed for us to do, as a demonstration of Your glory. In the Name of Christ Jesus Amen.
