The Bridge They Said Would Never Stand

In 1867, engineer John Roebling proposed spanning the East River between Manhattan and Brooklyn with a suspension bridge — the longest in the world. Critics called it impossible. The city council nearly killed the project. When Roebling died from an accident during early construction, skeptics declared the whole endeavor finished. His son Washington took over, only to be crippled by decompression sickness within months. For fourteen years, Washington Roebling directed construction from his apartment window through a telescope, relaying instructions through his wife Emily. The project everyone rejected, the vision they mocked and abandoned, became one of the most iconic structures in American history. The Brooklyn Bridge still carries 120,000 vehicles daily, over 140 years later.

Psalm 118 tells us that "the stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone." The Psalmist knew what it meant to be surrounded by enemies, written off, left for dead — and then lifted up by the hand of the Almighty. This is how God works. He takes what the world discards — the overlooked son of Jesse, the carpenter from Nazareth, the stuttering prophet, the barren woman — and builds His kingdom on them.

Whatever you carry today that feels rejected or dismissed, know this: the Lord's steadfast love endures forever. He specializes in turning the world's rubble into His cornerstones. Open the gates of righteousness — this is the day the Lord has made.