Don't Stop Stacking

Jerusalem roads sit on top of a historical timeline that is rivaled by none. There are more than 30 centuries of continuous recorded history in Israel’s capital.  This is a city with layers upon layers of past ages that tell the story of ancient heartache and victory.  It is acres and acres of land that have been inhabited, built up, destroyed to rubble, then rebuilt again on the same 49 square miles.

Each time the city was destroyed by a conquering civilization, it provided the people of Israel the opportunity to activate their faith and start again. Each tier is a sign of new hope.

Much like the historical snapshots of Jerusalem have made an indentation on the earth, the hopelessness you experience repeatedly indents your heart. It gets buried deep under layers and years of hurt and despair. After hopelessness has made an impression on your heart, you feel like you cannot escape the remnants it leaves behind. You feel like every loss and heartache are piled mile-high, one on top of another, creating an impenetrable force around your future. You are left with the rubble of grief, anger, disappointment, doubt, emotional pain, trauma, and verbal abuse that eliminate the slightest glimmer of hope for peace in the future.

Joy can stack on top of grief. (Psalm 34:18)

The serenity of Jesus can stack on top of rage and resentment. (Colossians 3:8, 15)

Faith can stack on top of wavering confidence. (Mark 9:24)

Jesus calls you “the light of the world. A city on a hill that cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14). Your ruins do not have to remain a heap of wreckage of destruction; they can be the foundation of your hope. You are that beautiful city. Every acre of hope. And you are called to shine brightly for Him.

You are a beautiful city.

Don’t stop stacking.