They say that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, well that is especially true in a junkyard.
Back before cars were more complex to work on like they are now, junkyards were a lot more common. When people had a broken part on their car, instead of ordering a brand new one, they would go to the junkyard, pick out what they needed, and fix it themselves.
The book of Ezra begins in 538 BC. This was 48 years after King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians utterly destroyed Soloman’s temple, burned down the entire city of Jerusalem, and took many of the Israelites to Babylon as captives.
In chapter 1-3, the first group of exiles return back to their homeland in Jerusalem under the leadership of Zerubbabel and they begin to rebuild Solomon’s temple. There were three key leaders involved in this restoration. Zerubbabel who reconstructed the temple, Nehemiah who rebuilt the walls, and Ezra who restored the worship.
After the foundation of the new temple had been laid, most of the people sang with praise and thanksgiving to the Lord. However, the older priests and Levites who had remembered the first temple began to weep. (Ezra 3:12) This was because the new temple was not as elaborate or beautiful as the original temple.
Sometimes life can feel like this for us. We remember the glory days of when life was great but somewhere along the way, we lose the joy that we once had. Maybe it was a bad mistake that we made, or the falling out with a close relationship, or maybe it was something unexpected that happened to us that we could not control. Regardless of what happened, we feel like our life is too broken to be fixed so we send it to the junkyard where there is no hope to be found.
Well I’ve got good news. God is a master at taking what we believe is unsalvageable and turning it into something great. Just like the rebuilding of the temple, it will not always look like what we expect, but God’s grace can transform, redeem, and restore all of the events in our life and work it out for our good. (Romans 8:28) No mistake, sin, or negative experience will be ever able to stop the master mechanic from creating something great from the junkyard of our lives.
The Bigger Picture: God’s grace can redeem and restore all of the broken pieces in your life to create something spectacular.
The Bigger Picture 
One response to “The Junkyard”
We also need to speak and use what God has given us. The Bible tells us that we have been given everything we need to walk in victory. Your confession is your possession. Use your words!
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