Arise and Build

Defeated and defenseless—such was how the Israelites felt when they found the walls of
Jerusalem in ruins. They just returned from exile, but could not enjoy their newfound
freedom because their bare walls were essentially inviting other nations to attack them.

We may feel the same way, too. As cases lessened and restrictions loosened, we looked
forward to the dawn of the post-pandemic world—only to see not light at the of the tunnel,
but a clearer sight of the pandemic’s wreckage: economies struggling to recover… fears and
anxieties mounting and escalating… childhoods forever altered… family and friends forever