Joy in the Midst of Brokenness

Every Sunday morning when I leave Marshall and head toward Olivet I turn onto 17 ½ Mile Rd., I enjoy taking that route because it’s a beautiful stretch of road that has several nice houses on it. But there is one house in particular that really stands out. It’s described as a 35 acre estate on Zillow and it can be yours for only 2.5 million dollars. By the way, the original cost of construction was about 5 million dollars. The reason it's for sale at such a bargain price is because the house caught on fire about 10 years ago and sat empty and untouched for several years. But about 5 years ago, some contractors started working on the house and gutted the inside right down to the studs. The outside remained fairly well intact, but the inside was changed drastically.

In many ways, it seems like this is what King Solomon wants to do with us. He’s stripping away all the damaged and unnecessary parts of our lives that we try to hide away from others. He’s stripping us right down to the studs. Now he’s not doing it because he wants to destroy us. Instead, he is trying to help us rebuild our lives around the things that really matter. 

This is a good analogy for what King Solomon is doing through today’s passage. Some things will be stripped away from our lives. But when he’s done, he’ll begin to rebuild us. This process will lead us to an important truth: Since life is short and unpredictable, make a practice of enjoying the moments God gives you!