Christian Living

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I Peter 5:10-11 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.


Night before last, I had a recurring dream that I’ve had probably five or six times in the last couple of years. This time, however, I woke falling. Therefore, it has laid heavily on my mind and I have been seeking revelation about it all day yesterday and this morning.

I live in a huge house (in the dream). It is five stories high. The lower floor, the foundation, is in perfect condition. The flooring, the woodwork, the beams -- they are all quite elegant. Many guests have come and gone (during the duration of this recurring dream) and they all admire the beauty of the foundation.

Every time, I want to show them the upper room, the fifth floor, because it is my favorite room in all the house. The lighting there is extraordinary. The upper room has the most beautiful woodwork and the light, a skylight like one I have never seen before, lights up the entire foundation. In fact, it is a source of light for the entire house.

However, every time I try to take them through the three levels between the foundation and the upper room, I must apologize for the condition of the house. The banisters and flooring are all made of very expensive wood and were once beautiful beyond description. But they worsen, becoming more and more aged and rotted with each dream.

I am so saddened by the ruins of what I know was once an extraordinary home. I want everyone to see the beauty of what once was. But I know in my heart that they can only see the damage, the ruin, the waste. It can be gorgeous again though. You see, I share a house with The Lover of My Soul. It's more than beautiful because it is The House that LOVE Built. -- Song of Solomon 1:17 The beams of our house are cedars; our rafters are firs.

At first, I was concerned that I’d somehow missed out on old things passing away and all things becoming new. And I prayed that my “house” would be torn down completely and built new from the foundation up. But as it turns out, that isn’t the case at all. Old things have already passed away. I am a new creation. So, why is my “house” in such ruins? Tearing it down wouldn’t do at all. It’s cornerstones hold up the upper room. It needs to be, rather, restored.

I recall the year that everything in my life that I was familiar and comfortable with changed completely. I never, ever believed that I would be divorced. But I am. I always believed that I would raise my children until they were grown and married and lived two blocks away from me. What a laugh. I was a full-time mother and wife one day and I lived totally alone the next. It was also the year that my relationship with the Lord took a huge turn. The “foundation” was laid many years before then. But that was when I began to discover that I owned something quite unique, one of a kind, extraordinary and very, very valuable.

There are so many aspects, so many areas, so many rooms between the foundation and the upper room. They are the totality of who I am -- my character. Those “rooms” have been scarred and marred by time and tragedies of first one kind and then another. Some of the destruction got patched. Some of it just got left shattered. But at one time, those floors were extravagant and extraordinary. What a shame to see them in ruins.

Some areas in my house were even ruined by my own negligence and lack of respect for the home God gave to me. I had no idea that I was given a home of great value. Though I have never known what it is to be extremely wealthy, I often feel like someone who was born into great wealth and really has no idea how fortunate they are until they lose it all.

I do, occasionally, uncover lost treasures and sentiments that I once displayed proudly. But I’ve just as often tossed them back into the piles of dust or swept them beneath the rotted rugs because I’ve failed to see them as valuable. It's easy to forget that I am fearfully and wonderfully made when all I see are the ruins.

My guests followed me to lesser heights with each dream, as the destruction worsened with each floor. And in this most recent dream, we only made it to the second floor. As we ascended the stairs to the third floor, my guests stepped aside. One man said “I don’t think these rotted floors are going to hold.” But I was so anxious to show them the upper room that I went ahead and took a step up. That’s when the floor gave way and I fell through, waking up to wonder if there was any hope at all for my “house” and, again, why it isn’t all torn down and rebuilt completely.

As I prayed about it and meditated on it, I recalled a time, very shortly after I found myself divorced and without my children, when the Lord led me to several places in the Word concerning restoration and caused them to sink so, so deeply into my heart and spirit and soul that I knew, without doubt, they were promises made specifically to me.

The promise concerning restoration that I recall most comes from Acts 15:12-18 The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. When they finished, James spoke up: "Brothers, listen to me. Simon has described to us how God at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself. The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written: "'After this I will return and rebuild David's fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things' that have been known for ages."

But, what sunk in most was not that I would be getting back old things. Rather, that I, myself, would be totally restored, totally rebuilt, totally renewed, because, though I was one of the ones chosen among and taken from the Gentiles, I represent the House of David. And I don’t have to wait on heaven. I do, however, have to be patient and WAIT ON THE LORD.

Psalm 27:13-14 I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.

Those three floors between the foundation and the upper room are in terrible waste. They’ve been neglected and abused. There is no possible way that I can restore those rooms. I have neither the strength, the finances, nor the talent to do that kind of creative work. I am in deep need of a professional Carpenter. Do you know One? I do. I can’t afford to pay a professional, however.

But, I’ve got this personal connection, this covenant with the Master Architect who originally built my house almost four decades ago. This five-story house is so extraordinary that He made the blueprints for it thousands and thousands of years ago. He’s aware of every nail, every beam, every knot in the woodwork. And it just so happens that His Only Begotten Son is also THE Master Carpenter. All the restoration costs have been waived!

I believe the reason for my recurring dream is to bring me to the realization that the foundation is laid and the cornerstones are in place, holding the upper room securely in place. But all those floors in between will continue to rot away as long as I hang on to my homeowner's deed, knowing full well that I am not capable of truly taking care of a home this grand.

My own righteousness is that of a filthy rag. I cannot make my home look the way it was originally designed to look. Thank God that NOTHING is impossible FOR HIM. He is more than capable of restoring the ruins that I alone only ruin further. He is more than capable of restoring my home to the righteousness of God in which it was created to shine.

So, here I stand today, holding the keys to my house out to the Carpenter. I trust Him with it. I even entrust all my goods to Him. In fact, I think He’ll probably surprise me by the time He’s done with restoring my home. He's better than the best carpenters. He's the Master Carpenter. Besides, He lives here and I'm sure He wants His place of residence to be one He'll be proud of.

I’ll probably mess up and get in His way every once in a while, being nosy, asking what He’s doing, making lame suggestions, insisting I know what certain things are supposed to look like and that sort of homeowner nonsense. And He’ll probably be very patient and work around me, never tripped up by me, because it’s just His nature to be extremely longsuffering. He’ll go around pouring oil on old wood and shining things up. Or maybe not. If they’re in too bad of shape, He may replace those pieces altogether.

Nevertheless, my house didn’t get in the condition it’s in overnight. And I expect it’s going to take a while before it’s completely restored. I figure I’ll probably get a few pieces of new furniture and a couple of new paintings to hang on my lovely, restored walls. I may even get new dishes to eat from and a new bed to sleep in. I can almost smell the newly polished wood already. Even the light is shining a little brighter already. Looks like “Somebody” has already been up there in the upper room with some window cleaner and gotten hold of the skylight.

One day, when the work is complete, when my home is one that I, myself, am quite pleased with, I will leave it. I’ll even want to leave it, even though it’s mine and even though it’s extraordinary. You see, this old house, extraordinary as it may be, is temporal. It might even be beautiful, but I’ve got a home waiting for me that time and tragedy cannot destroy. Moths and rust can’t even touch it, much less do any damage. It’s made up of precious gemstones and crystal floors. And this house, ah, this old house, even restored to its original condition, will be as nothing in comparison.

If you’d like to come and visit me, let me warn you in advance -- My house is under construction! The whole place is one huge restoration zone. I’m a work in progress! Don’t pay all those piles of beat-up building materials any mind. The Carpenter is refinishing them all. The foundation and corner posts are solid, however.

Perhaps we can gather in the comfort of my dining room and fellowship together. It is, after all, located on the ground floor. We may even talk the Carpenter into sitting with us a while. Don’t be surprised, though, if He washes your feet. He’s like that sometimes -- kind of picky about your feet when He’s going to sit next to you to eat.

By the way, the seat next to Him, as long as we’re dining in my dining room, is reserved for me. I like to lean on Him and admire Him while we dine. I fall a little more in love with Him every day. I didn’t think I could love Him more, but I do. Try a little of the water-turned-wine while you’re here too. It’s really quite good. Be sure you bring a new wineskin with you, though. That stuff is powerful and will bust through an old skin in a hurry.

Abba Father, the Master Architect, gave me a wine cellar that is just out-of-this-world unique. I’m not real sure how it happened, but somehow, that old wine cellar has been maintained all these years. A new bottle of wine even shows up in it every once in a while out of seemingly nowhere. Here; Have a taste. Yummy? Yep; that’s the real good stuff!!!
© Joyce Pool

Isaiah 44:24-28 "This is what the LORD says— your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb:

I am the LORD, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself, who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who overthrows the learning of the wise and turns it into nonsense, who carries out the words of his servants and fulfills the predictions of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, 'It shall be inhabited,' of the towns of Judah, 'They shall be built,' and of their ruins, 'I will restore them,' who says to the watery deep, 'Be dry, and I will dry up your streams,' who says of Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of Jerusalem, "Let it be rebuilt," and of the temple, "Let its foundations be laid." '

(I very strongly recommend that you read Jeremiah chapter 31, Deuteronomy chapter 30, Job 8:5-7, and Job 22:18-30 if this article has ministered to you.)

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