Down Before Up

Scripture Reading: Psalm 98; Jeremiah 1-3; Colossians 3-4

Then the LORD put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me: “See I have set you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant.” - Jeremiah 1:9-10

When God called Jeremiah, He didn’t send him out to build first. The first part of his assignment was to root out, pull down, destroy, and throw down. Only then would there be room to build and plant.

It’s not the kind of ministry many would volunteer for. Jeremiah’s words would offend, unsettle, and undo before they could comfort and heal. His mission wasn’t to patch cracks in the wall, but to bring the whole structure down so something true and lasting could take its place.

That’s often how God works in our lives, too. We pray for Him to build something new in us, but He often begins by tearing down what’s already standing. Pride, self-reliance, old habits, false securities — He roots them out one by one. It can feel destructive, but it’s the necessary preparation for grace. A garden can’t be planted in ground that hasn’t first been plowed under.

Jeremiah’s call shows us that God’s work of grace is both demolition and construction. He tears down what sin has built so He can plant what faith will grow. That’s true for individuals, for churches, even for nations. His purposes are always redemptive, but they often, as the writer of Hebrews reminds us, begin with a shaking.

And we see this pattern fully in Christ. Before the resurrection came the cross. Before the temple curtain was torn open, the temple itself had to be declared desolate. Jesus overturned tables before He established His kingdom in the hearts of men. The tearing down was not the end — it was the beginning of renewal.

So when God starts pulling something up by the roots in your life, don’t lose heart. It may be that He’s preparing the soil for something better. What feels like loss may actually be the sound of old foundations giving way so that something enduring can finally be built.