October 24

Read: Ezekiel 36:33-36

In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded (Ezekiel 36:33).

The Wastes Shall Be Builded

When God takes control, a man’s life is transformed. And the more completely He controls, the more wonderful the change. The new heart which God promised in verse 26 is followed by a new Eden in verse 35. Isaiah sang of the way of holiness, “The wilderness and the solitary place

shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing” (Isaiah 35:1-2).

But economic wastes are not the only deserts that are builded when God comes into a life — nor are they the most important. A young man whose spirit had grown bitter, and whose home had been broken by sin, returned to God. He asked the Holy Spirit to again take control of his life. He wrote, “God has given me the promise, ‘And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar… And ye shall eat in plenty, and satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God'” (Joel 2:25,26). That promise has been fulfilled and the waste places of his life have been builded. His spirit was transformed and his broken home mended…

God’s Holy Spirit brings beauty to our faded lives, and joy to our old, weary world. Christ gives not only grace — He also adds glory. The beauty of the Lord is on the people who are wholly devoted to Him. That is why the Psalmist exhorts us, “Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness” (Psalms 96:9).

Prayer For Today

Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands… yea, the… work of our hands establish thou it (Psalms 90:17).