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Rebuilding and Repairing Are His Specialty...

And they shall rebuild the old ruins,
They shall raise up the former desolations,
And they shall repair the ruined cities,
The desolations of many generations.
Isaiah 61:4 NKJV

God’s Word not only reveals the new things He is continually doing, but it also speaks often of renewal, refreshing, restoring, rebuilding, and repairing.

Honestly, I had to look up what the English prefix—re—actually meant. I had a good guess, but what does a dictionary have to say? The prefix often means again, going back, or going back to the original.[i] As we look to our loving Father to bring newness in our lives, the many Bible re words are significant in the light of returning to what God originally intended.

Jesus wants to restore, repair, and rebuild us to what He originally planned before sin and unhealth knocked the stuffing out of us. If He is doing something new in us, it is not for the sake of returning (another re word again!) to our prior state of brokenness. With Jesus, it is all about doing something above and beyond what we could imagine (Ephesians 3:20).

Our verse above shares the rebuilding and repairing that God offers us in the context of our family generations. Does your tribe have stories of ruin relationally, physically, or financially? Is there desolation through hurt and circumstances? Do these past issues graze the shoulder of your life now?

No, we can’t go back to undo what our parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents may have experienced. But we can stop the wave of generational unhealth we may have inherited in the power of Jesus’ name.

So, ponder and pray about this today. Are you repeating your family’s past mistakes? It’s time to break the cycle with the Holy Spirit’s help. He will do it. Rebuilding and repairing are His specialty.

[i] Dictionary: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/re, accessed December 29, 2023.