Isaiah 58:11

“The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones: You shall be like a well watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. Those from among you shall build the old waste places; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of the Streets to dwell in.”

Building up the “old waste places”.  Ever been to a place of total devastation?  Maybe it was the loss of a loved one, or through betrayal of a close friend.  There are times in our lives when the deepest part of us seems to be desolate, dry and totally without anything living.  We can’t find our way out of the darkness.  We are “stuck” in it.

In these times, we need our Christian sisters to come around and hold us up.

Someone to lean on for a while, someone to be our cheerleader.

Enter the exhorter..encourager.  Someone who has the spiritual gift of encouragement.

These are people in our christian walk that come alongside us and walk through times of discouragement.

Those from among you shall build the old waste places.  As an exhorter, I feel that is where God uses me.   As He brings people into our lives, we are to encourage, strengthen and teach them through his Word and His Spirit to come out of the darkness into His marvelous light.

We are to be about the building up of the ruins in our brothers and sisters lives.  Walking beside them encouraging them to move forward, but without enabling to continue being stuck in  muck and mire to which they have sunk.

Many times we shrink back from this part of our christian responsibility because it gets messy. Sometimes very messy!   We live with so much fear and we can begin to live in that fear because at least it is familiar.  Outside is scarcy.  TRUST??? You have to be kidding!

I must be in control.  We live in the ruins of anxiety. Constant panic is our daily companion.

How do we move past it?  KISS  Keep it simple sister!!!  Walk in the Word.  Walk by the Spirit of the Living Lord Jesus.  Walk with another sister in Christ.   One step at a time.  Walking in the light given for the step on which you stand.  Pray without ceasing.  God will give you the strength.  But most times he is saying, “You go first”.   Stretch your faith.  Believe His Word.

Take a risk with Him!  Baby steps… But get moving!!!
We want to walk with you on your journey.  The “sisters from the south” are wonderful godly women to whom I go when the world goes dark.  We have much work to be done for such a time as this.

Freda