BURNT STONES

"...The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire."  

Nehemiah 1: 3

"...Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish—stones that are burned?"

Nehemiah 4: 2

“…The strength of the laborers is failing, and there is so much rubble we are not able to build the wall.”   Nehemiah 4:10

 The drama of the church is often reminiscent of those scenes from war movies in which excited new recruits march toward the front lines while being met by weary veterans limping along bandaged and bloody, carrying their wounded, and still in shock from the trauma of battle.  The new recruits move forward ready to conquer the world, while battle-weary veterans groan in the pain of wounds, hurts, and struggles.  Multitudes start out in the Christian walk. Everybody expects testing; they just don't expect it to be real. They expect either victory without battle (naiveté and untested faith) or battle without victory (skepticism and unbelief). Motives and untested faith must inevitably face the refiners fire. The disillusionments of time and testing can take a heavy toll on the lightheartedness of youthful innocence, naiveté, and inexperience. As a result, many Christians tend to move over time and experience from the naiveté of the inexperienced novice to the skeptical cynicism of the disillusioned veteran.

How many Christians do you know who are withdrawn and no longer involved in Christian fellowship, or who just sit on the “back row” and hover at the fringes of the Christian life? How many do you know whose lives have fallen apart? It's the spouse who has become spiritually defeated because of marriage conflicts. It is the pastor who feels he has been through his own crucifixion at the hands of a rebellious flock. It is the Christian who has been abused or hurt by the church or its leaders. It's the person who has been disillusioned and disappointed by his own failures or that of others and by the unexpected complications of life. Hopes held high in the beginning eventually dissipated in the midst of hard times, mistreatment, distresses, and sin. The experienced "veteran" is often the most depressed.

The "burnt-stone" syndrome occurs when a person is overwhelmed by the various "fires" of temptation, mistreatment, conflict, failure, disillusionment, and disappointment. It occurs when one embraces wrong or sinful responses to difficulties and adversities. These wrong responses, left uncorrected, hinder the grace of God, choke out the fruit of the Holy Spirit, and produce spiritual desolation. When a person gets the wind knocked out of him, his new primary concern becomes survival rather than service. When a person is standing amid the broken fragments of collapsed walls he loses heart and hope. How can I give of myself again after all my past investment has gone up in smoke?  How can I build again? Why should I build again? Who can I trust again? These are questions asked by those who have been disabled by the fires of life. The survivalist mentality leads us away from the cross and the way of the cross. It causes us to focus on self. But we must remember that our answers are in Jesus Christ Himself. In withdrawing from bad experiences, we often withdraw from the Lord. We allow our image of Him to become distorted and we become cautious, tentative, and hesitant in our approach to Him. Therefore, the first thing we must do is to come to the Lord with renewed surrender, commitment, and trust.  There is hope for those who have been derailed or crippled by the trials of life and relational conflict.

We do not have to remain in the rubble of past failures and trials, nor does our future have to be controlled by the sin, failures, and offenses of others. The question is, “Will I choose to live the rest of my life allowing unhealed hurts and disappointments to “chain” me to the situations or persons who afflicted me, or will I live the rest of my life walking with Jesus?” Will I allow the Lord to fulfill Romans 8:28 in my life. HE is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think. Jesus was able to endure the cross, despising the shame, pain, and trials, because He saw the joy that was set before Him. We must remember that God has set before us great joy and great reward that will come through faith, endurance, and obedience.

 There are biblical answers and principles that help us come through the fires without our being spiritually disabled and derailed. If I can be of any encouragement to anyone who is struggling in this area, please contact me at broblong@gmail.com.