Past Glories, Present Blessings

And the people blessed all the men who volunteered to live in Jerusalem. - Nehemiah 11:2

The history of Jerusalem is, in many ways, the history of world religion. It has been conquered, sacked, reconquered, and claimed by multiple kings and kingdoms throughout the ages. Of course, it has for centuries also been known as "Zion," a city set on a hill.

Yet, when Nehemiah returned to rebuild it, Jerusalem had lost all of its previous luster. The central gem in the setting that was God's Promised Land, a place visited by millions today, was no longer shining or desirable. In fact, those who were willing to live in the dilapidated setting, behind Nehemiah's reconstructed wall, were honored as God's blessed servants for making the sacrifice!

Past glories do not promise present blessings. Your "Jerusalem," whatever it might have been, may only be a memory, but the way forward is through diligence, faithfulness, presence, and commitment to making things better. You may not "like" the current circumstances of your life, but complacency will change nothing. It may not be easy to reclaim what you have lost, but it will always be necessary to move onward in obedience to Christ.

What we hope ever to do with ease, we must learn first to do with diligence. - Samuel Johnson