Wrecking Ball Theology

Psalm 51:12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit.


This week the Author makes a very good point. When God starts to rebuild our lives, He must first remove the older structures of our lives in order that a brand spanking new building can be built. He points out that God doesn’t use a wrecking ball and just demolish the old structures with one fell swoop. No he use smaller tools and dismantles the structure piece by piece and He takes His time to make sure the job is done correctly.

The author opens with verse Psalm 51:12 but I think a much more fitting scripture comes from Deuteronomy 7:22:

"The LORD your God will clear away these nations before you little by little; you will not be able to put an end to them quickly, for the wild beasts would grow too numerous for you.

When I was a young man in college I hired on with an excavation company in Liberty Indiana to help tear down a building that was over 100 years old. It was built in the 1860’s and was being torn down. (I might add that my Dad wryly commented “That’s a good job for you … right up your alley!”) I thought it would be easy and fun. It wasn’t. It was some of the hardest and most dangerous work I’d ever done. I had to sign a paper that released them of all responsibilities in case of my sudden demise and if I found anything of value, it was their property. (I did find a cap and ball revolver with real confederate money behind one of walls!)

As I related this weeks lesson to my life I could see a strong parallel between how God has worked in my life and how I’ve grown through the process.

First of all I signed a release to my life when I signed on as a Christian. My life is not my own, but God’s. ("I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. Gal 2:20). This means for me to die is gain and to live is Christ (Phil 1:21). Being killed while tearing down a building wasn’t something I worried about when I was 22. When God starts removing structures in my life that need to be demolished, it feels like I’m going to die sometimes, but I no longer worry about it. Let God be God and I will be the benefactor. And even though I can’t see what is coming, I can trust that it will be better than what was there before.

The second part of this I find interesting is that there was value found hidden in the old building. Much to my dad’s chagrin, I filled the entire trunk of my 64 Oldsmobile with things my Mom thought were “precious”. I can tell you this, by looking at the old hotel and the wreckage of the building, it’s hard to see anything of value in there. Isn’t that how God sees our lives and the lives of others? Other people may look at your life and see a wreck. You may look at your life and see a wreck. But God doesn’t. He sees things in your life of value and it’s only through the tearing down of the old that the things of value can be seen.

It’s interesting that while the tearing down and removal of the building took only a few weeks at most, the tearing down and rebuilding of a life takes a lifetime. Deuteronomy 7:22 tells us God respects our emotional and physiological make up because he doesn’t do it all at once. He takes time and does it slowly but surely. He takes the things in our life that are broken, barren or overrun with weeds, and he fixes, rebuilds or plants new and vital structures so our lives can reflect His and so we can become more Christ like every day.

Oh Lord: Help me to not get nervous or worried when I see some structure in my life you haven’t worked on yet. Sometimes your work in removing one thing exposes something else that needs to be removed as well. Help me to understand the process. It doesn’t happen all at once and I shouldn’t expect it to. Help me to realize you love me when I see things that have yet to be torn down or fixed.

Thanks Lord … I appreciate you!