The Ruins

Good morning!  Ever wake up in the morning and get off on the wrong foot?  Already feels like the day is ruined from the get-go.  Maybe it was something that happened the day before, or the day before that, or perhaps even years ago.  Let’s not let that ruin our day.  Let’s dig into some words of encouragement. Let’s talk about The Ruins.

Have you ever had something happen on a big scale that was so devastating that you thought your life was ruined?  Maybe you are feeling that now. 

Ruin (noun):

The physical destruction or disintegration of something or the state of disintegrating or being destroyed.

A Trip to the Ruins

Carmen and I had the honor of visiting Belize with friends.  While there we visited the Mayan Ruins.  We finally arrived after quite the hour boat ride from San Pedro on Ambergris Caye, then through the jungle river, and quite the van ride on the worst roads ever.

That’s Carmen in the pic with our good friends the Middletons and the Andlers. That’s me behind the camera with feet safely on the ground. I didn’t climb the steps because they were NOT OSHA-approved. The steps were so steep and so small I’m sure someone fell off of them and died back in the day.  Randy and Julie, if you are reading this, shouldn’t they have ropes and harnesses on for this climb? 🤣

What Can Ruin Your Life

Once a great civilization. Now in ruins.  There are those that feel that way about their lives.  Let’s consider things that can ruin your life – not counting major accidents, life-threatening illnesses, or climbing the Mayan Ruins.  It could be:

• Worrying – people accept this as normal.  “Well, I just worry about it.”  That justifies it, not!
• Working at a job you hate.  You can’t not take that home with you, and that’s no fun for you or anyone else you live with there. Your work must have purpose.
• Being in a relationship where you feel trapped.  Okay, so I’m not in counseling mode here so let me just say, “RUN!”
• Not taking care of yourself.  I’ll admit, staying healthy is a battle with the good ole American comfort food and the excuses of COVID or anything else.  But others depend on you being healthy. Fight for your life!
• Living a lie.  Everyone else knows it.  How can you not know that they know?  And once others know it, it’s a miserable life.
• Being pessimistic.  You are a drainer if you are pessimistic – no one wants to be around you.  Okay, maybe someone does, but then you make both them and yourself miserable.
• Believing money will make you happy.  This is chasing the carrot.  You can Google story after story of miserable people who have lots of money.  They are no different than the miserable people with average or little money.  They just have more money – the money didn’t change their situation.
• Other people – the enemy will certainly specialize in using others to bring ruin to us. Don’t let them. God can and will bring you out of ruin. And He will use your story to help others.

How To Turn Your Life Around 

A Better Way To Turn It Around:

• stop worrying – trust and rest in Jesus.
• quit the job you hate and do something you enjoy or at least can bear. Something that uses your strengths and gifts. Something that gives you purpose (hint: use it to fulfill God’s purpose).
• find people to be around that will lift you up and care about you, not someone who controls you with fear and traps you in a relationship.
• Start taking care of yourself…start easy, start slow.  You didn’t get there overnight. It will take consistency and time to get back.
• Be positive, be happy, be a blessing to others and stop draining their life and yours.
• Get more money – just kidding.  Money doesn’t make someone into something they are not. Money makes someone into more of who they were to begin with (good or bad). Time to change that because money won’t.
• And one of the top 10 life-changers – commit to and do a mission trip.  It takes the focus off of you and allows you to begin to reflect God to others who have less than you but are many times better off than you. This is a great springboard for getting on track.

One last one:

Jesus Turns Ruins Into Riches

There are many things we could use or do to ruin our lives. But this list is a good way to start turning that ole Titanic around.  It takes a second (or is it a minute). But we can do it.  Here are some key things to keep in mind:

• Wait a minute (or is that a second), isn’t Jesus walking with you in your every-day-life?  Didn’t He create you?  I bet He has something up His sleeve that will help. Oh ya, His living word.

Well, on second thought let’s narrow it down and keep it simple …Jesus.  You know, He IS the living word. He is THE word. The word became Him (flesh/human) and He spoke the Word, and with His Word He spoke the world into existence. What more need I say, it’s all about Jesus.  It’s all about the Word. See the book of John, the first chapter.

Hebrews 4:12-13  MSG

God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one can resist God’s Word. We can’t get away from it—no matter what.

Challenge of the Week: 

It’s a mindset.  The mindset is a lifestyle.  Make your lifestyle about His Word.  Let His Word be alive in you.  Keep it simple and focused – Jesus. Let Him bring you life from the ruins. So be it!

Ezekiel 37:1-14 NIV

37 The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. ² He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. ³ He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”

⁴ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! ⁵ This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath^[a] enter you, and you will come to life. ⁶ I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. ⁸ I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

⁹ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it,

‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

¹¹ Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ ¹² Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. ¹³ Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. ¹⁴ I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”