Builders Build

It is said that you are building your life everyday. There's never a day off when it comes to building one's life and the direction in which it goes. Especially when we are young. And so it's understandable when someone like George Bernard Shaw says "Youth is wasted on the young". The older I get, the more I understand it. The things I would love to tell my younger self now, if I had the chance. But that's not possible.

What do we do when sometimes the building goes haywire, or it comes to a stand still or even worse - is set back because of circumstance?

In the Bible, we find Nehemiah in a similar situation when it came to the broken walls of Jerusalem. He had no experience with building but he had a burden. A burden that stemmed from a vision to see his homeland protected and his countrymen safe. Broken walls meant the land is susceptible to invasion and all kinds of havoc from the outside. What did he do? I'm summarizing here but it is worthy of a deeper reflection.

• He mourned, wept, fasted and prayed. (Nehemiah 1:3-5) Mournful prayer not only helps us reflect on the extent of the ruin and it's implications but enables us to surrender to God's will and ways in the midst of our brokenness.
  

• He came up with a plan on how to get the rebuilding back on track. (Nehemiah 2:4-8) - Coming up with a vision is the most crucial part of accomplishing anything but if it isn't coupled with a plan and strategy on how to fulfil it, it will inevitably fail.
  

• He surveyed the full extent of the ruin. (Nehemiah 2:11-15) - I liked how Craig Groeschel put it - "You can't defeat what you don't define." Defining the full extent of the ruin, how it is affecting you and the people around you helps in creating a sustainable strategy that works for you.
  

• He engaged help by communicating vision. (Nehemiah 2:17-18) - You aren't called to go at it alone. There are people around you who God has called to build with you. Start talking about the pictures, the vision that's on your heart.
  

• He consistently aligned his actions to his vision without paying heed to distractions, enemies and naysayers (Nehemiah 2:19-20) - Distractions both in person and in circumstance are part of the journey. I might even say that they are crucial elements to make you what you are meant to be. They are like the sand paper going over the rough edges of a rock making it smooth and usable. It's easy to get discouraged, disappointed and go down that spiral. But part of the journey is to learn to silence or ignore those voices and tune in to what you are called to do and the vision that God's put on your heart. That's what fighters do. God's making a fighter out of you. Maybe when he calls you, you feel inadequate, timid, perturbed at the slightest bit of resistance. But when he allows you to go through these situations, it does something in you. It solidifies the call, clarifies the vision, strengthens your resolve, builds your character, makes you persevere and fight to the finish.

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Romans 5:3-5

• He adapted his plans and strategies to fulfil the vision when circumstances changed - (Nehemiah 4:11-18) - Plans always have to to be adapted because one can't fully predict what the future is going to look like. So to stay on track, it's important to take the time to align your plans, and your actions with your vision.

Builders Build.

In Genesis 1, we find God being the first and ultimate model of Envisioning, building, creating, designing, leading, stewarding, organizing. Humans, created in his image, were mandated to expand on what he began in creation and the Garden of Eden. Do you know that you are called to be a builder? To envision a future, and strive regularly, diligently towards it? To be creative in solving problems, to use wisdom with which God created the world, in your every day lives? It's in your nature so to speak. Isn't it any wonder that as a human race, we are constantly building, innovating, striving for a better future? This is because our creator is the same way. In Genesis 1:2, we see the Spirit of God moving over a formless and void world, and he speaks time, matter, space, order and creation into existence.

It's time for us to echo the words of Nehemiah as he stood in the midst of ruined walls and an uncertain future -

Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace. Nehemiah 2:17

You are called to build - Build yourself, build your marriage, build your kids, build your business, your work, your relationships, your resources - make it a future that shows off God's glory. In a more grander scale, in all of your building, you are being built by God himself. Like Peter says

you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:5

As you allow him to build you up - by letting his presence fill you, his word direct you, his power enable you, his voice guide you - whatever you build will begin to increasingly reflect his glory. Yes, it must reflect his glory. Our very existence is testament to his greatness. Doing it for ourselves in not only limited in its capacity to fully embrace the human experience because we are created in his image, but also leads to an insatiable self-serving spiral motivated by our limited perspectives.

God's glory is inevitable, it is everlasting, it is seen in everything that has been made. And when you, as a person are being built by God, begin to intentionally build the world around you, his glory will be amplified even more.

When you get out of bed everyday, remember, you are building. Keep the vision alive, keep building, Setbacks, failures, slow progress, are all part of the process that God uses to make you the master builder you are called to be. Builder, keep building. And remember "Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain. " Psalms 127:1