Take a Second Look

Isaiah 44:26

That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof:

There are two types of people in life. The first type of person is the one who sees the destruction and everything negative, but the second type of person is the one who sees what can become of what has been destroyed. The first type of person is more of a negative mindset, whereas the second type of person is more of an optimistic mindset. There are many in the first type of group who are very good people, but they never see what God can do through their present situation. This first type of people have a mindset to hold on until Jesus comes, but the second type of people have a mindset to build and grow until Jesus comes.

You see these two groups in the verse above. The prophet said, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof. There were those in Isaiah's day who saw the decayed places and felt nothing could ever become of them, but the prophet saw the pile of ruins as an opportunity for God to show his power.

How you perceive situations in life and ministry will determine what becomes of them. You can see all the woes of life and just determine to hold on, or you can take the woes of life and turn them into a platform to do something great with your life. You can see how bad this world has become, and have a Laodicean mindset that there is no hope because everyone is lukewarm, or you can see that God is still God, and that He still has the power to do the miraculous today as he has always done. Let me give you a couple of thoughts on how to keep this second mindset.

First, never lose sight of the omnipotence of God. Throughout the Scriptures, you will see God reminds us that there is nothing too hard for Him. You often see in the Scriptures that God is very capable of taking the ruins of life and turning them into a beautiful edifice. When you keep your eyes on the omnipotence of God is when there is nothing that is too hard for God to rebuild.

Second, have a faith mindset that God can still do the miraculous today. Never lose faith that God can still take the ruins and turn them into a great work. When looking at a dying church, see that there is still life to make this church a great church again—your perception matters. You can look at a life that has been ruined by sin and say that God cannot do anything through them, or you can look at a life that has been ruined by sin and see that the grace of God is great enough to rebuild that life to make it a trophy piece for God. Never lose sight of faith. When you have a faith mindset, there is no pile of ruins that you won't look at and see the potential of what God can do with it.

Third, you must have a working mindset. If you don't want to work, you certainly won't want to rebuild from the ruins. I would rather have to work to rebuild something than to be handed something that somebody else has built. There is a satisfaction that comes from knowing you took something that nobody else would take, and with God's help rebuilt it. No great work of God will ever be done without hard work. If you want God to do something through your life, work harder than anyone else, and with God’s help, you will be able to rebuild the ruins into a great work for God.