Building

“Unless the Lord builds a house, 
the work of the builders is wasted. 
Unless the Lord protects a city, 
guarding it with sentries will do no good.”
Psalms‬ ‭127:1‬ ‭NLT‬‬

What are we building? Not many of us, if any, will be building a physical house with bricks and mortar, but we will be building something. Perhaps we are building a new life somewhere. Building a marriage. Building a family. A Pastor building a church. Building a career. The list is endless. But whatever it is, it is always good to hit the pause button and consider the question, “What am I building?” Coupled with this question is the thought, “What am I building on?” Foundations are key to a building’s longevity. 

Solomon, the Psalmist, was well equipped to talk about building something. He was a very successful King in Israel, David. So his advice to involve the Lord in the building process was valuable and appropriate.  Jesus taught about building in the parable about the wise and foolish builder. One built on a foundation of sand; the other on a foundation of rock. The wise man built on the words and principles taught by Jesus. But the foolish man didn’t. We can’t build anything that will last unless we involve God and His principles right at the start when we choose a foundation. And as the building develops, we involve God in that process, step by step. 

Sadly, as we look back over our lives, I suspect that many of us have started building something without God’s input. And perhaps ended up with a “folly” (the dictionary defines this as “a costly ornamental building with no practical purpose, especially a tower or mock-Gothic ruin built in a large garden or park”). Or we have ended up with a monster beyond our control. Or even an entity that soon disappears like a puff of smoke. But it’s never too late to get our building process, and what we are building, back on track. Sometimes we will have to start again. At other times God will show us a better way. Perhaps there is relevance in the advice given in Proverbs 16:3, “Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.” But whatever happens, we have a loving Heavenly Father who cares for us – He won’t abandon us to the folly of our ways if we reach out to Him and His grace.