Israel thought that God had forsaken them, but He said: “Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me” (Isa. 49:15,16). Zion and her walls (lives) were ever before Jehovah and His eternal plan would be accomplished—ultimately in spiritual Zion (the church).

Using “walls” to refer to our own lives, which are ever before Him,  what does the Lord see in each of us as members of His temple?

Charles Swindoll made these comments on Nehemiah’s efforts to restore the walls of Jerusalem. “Quite frankly, I think the walls of our lives often lie in ruins through neglect.

Take serious inventory of your true condition. Before his project was ever undertaken, Nehemiah was informed and concerned. The first phase was evaluation. I sense in our day, among a number of people...a shallow frivolity concerning God. We tend to take Him lightly. It is as though He is our great big buddy. Then we hide behind the rationalization that “nobody is perfect.” “After all,” we tell ourselves, “I’m better than so-and-so and certainly better than I used to be.” There’s sort of a shrug of the shoulders and a passing comment, “Well, He’ll understand.” If this is your attitude, the enemy is living in your camp. Your walls are down” (Hand Me Another Brick, p. 11).

...  Some of you are living with the walls of your life surrounded by ruin, and it all began very slowly. First there was a loose piece of stone or mortar. Then there was a crack that appeared in the wall. And then it broke into pieces, and there was a hole. Because of further neglect, the weeds of carnality began to grow through the wall. By and by, the enemy gained free access to your life.

You may be known as a good Christian. But you know in our heart that although you are a Christian in the same sense that Jerusalem belonged to the Jews, the wall around your spiritual life that protects and defends you is in shambles. Such things as selfishness, lack of discipline, procrastination, immorality, no time for God, compromise, and rebellion have come and sowed their ugly seeds...