People get knocked about by various forms of attack. Lives are damaged through:

• Unexpected disasters, accidents, illnesses, unemployment, homelessnesss.
• Wrong choices, mixing in the wrong company, using mood altering substances to fit in, developing bad habits.
• Self-willed preoccupation, with things that make us feel good while sin destroys our moral foundations.

Jesus tells us if our lives are not built on solid foundations everything we have built will fall apart and be ruined.

“These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit–but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock. “But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards.”
Matthew 7:24-27

Recovery from the ruin of our past requires demolition of our old way of life. It requires rebuilding with God’s help in His strength. It takes strong action to root outour problems. In relatioship with Jesus the ruins can be erased and we can start construction on lives that satisfy God, enabled by Him.