As men of God, we must never forget that our lives are continually under construction. In other words, we are a work in progress on our journey with the Lord. Before we came to know Jesus Christ, our lives were built with shoddy construction around our own desires, dreams, and plans. And even worse, we each had a foundation so damaged that it needed to be completely replaced!
Using the construction plan of our old lives will only result in another flawed home. Our foundation, interior, and exterior construction were not built to withstand the next storm that life brings our way. Our former house was built on the shifting sands of this world, not Christ—the One who is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Our plans revolved around the desires of our flesh, not the Spirit of God. Like a home built on shifting sands, eroding underneath us, we were destined for destruction.
Matthew 7:24-27
Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.
Now that we are born again, having accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we have a new contractor and foreman. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are our new construction team, with totally new plans and materials. Not only is the Lord our new contractor, but He is building in us a home that is unique from any other home in all of creation! Our foundation is our salvation. Our walls are constructed with God’s Word. His grace and mercy are our roof, and our prayers protect and prepare us from the storms that will come when we least expect them.
We are not talking about remodeling our old home—the person we were before we accepted Jesus. Doing this will only bring about more disaster since, before we entered into fellowship with Christ, our house was built according to our will rather than His will. While the outward appearance of our new faith-built homes may look the same, everything inside is brand new. In His mercy, grace, and goodness, the external appearance is not demolished. That’s because He wants to keep the scars of our old life as a reminder while the new walls are being erected. Removing our faulty wiring, piers, and beams can be uncomfortable! Our old construction focused on what the world said was right and catered to our fleshly desires that were rooted in temporary pleasures.
Our new construction is in the hands of the master craftsman, the God who hung the clouds and controls the universe. His work is designed to keep us from failing.
Philippians 2:13
For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose.
This new construction is often painful and takes time to build. Along the way, our faith will either falter or increase. He promises that during this time, He will never leave us or forsake us.
Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.
As our new construction takes place and we grow in the Lord, we need not lose sight of the fact that the God who began a good work in us will finish the work He has started (Philippians 1:6). We can put full trust in our master craftsman’s work. While we may grumble and even wonder when the painful reconstruction will be finished, God’s Word tells us that His ways are higher than ours. Put another way: His plans are better than ours, and what He does for His children is always superior to how we would have done it.
Isaiah 55:8-9
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
We need not question or doubt God and His plan for our lives; we only need to know that the outcome will make us the men of God that He predestined us to be before the very foundation of the world. The way we honor Him and don’t grow weary during our reconstruction is to stay in His Word, the Bible. His Word reminds us that our hope is in Him and our destination is eternal. While we remain in our earthly body, He tells us that this new construction is prepared to withstand the storms we face now and will face down the road. As we stand firm in our faith during our ongoing reconstruction, we look forward to our ultimate destination, Heaven, where Jesus has gone ahead of us to prepare our eternal home.
John 14:2-3
My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am.
The key is that we do not worry, fear, regret, or grow impatient. That’s because our good Father is building us into kingdom men. We should rejoice while He is finishing His good work!
Have a great weekend,
SL Thomas