Pastors’ Pearls – She Builds

If I asked you to think of attributes that would best describe a woman, you would probably be able to think of many things. You might say feminine, sensitive, wise, emotional, multi-tasker, or any one of hundreds of words that adequately express what a woman is. What about the word builder? My guess is you probably wouldn’t choose the word builder as one of your descriptions for a woman. When we hear this word, we think of a burly man with rough hands, worn-out jeans, and steel-toed boots. We think of hard hats and tool belts. This is a fair description of a builder, but it is definitely not the only one! I love to watch how women build. If you give a woman groceries, she’ll build a meal. If you give her love, she’ll build a family. If you give her a house, she’ll build a home. If you give her a story, she’ll build drama. If you give her a friend, she’ll build trust. If you give her a pair of shoes, she’ll build an extra shelf in her closet. Women are innate builders. God has created us that way.

“The wise woman builds her house,” Proverbs 14:1 says, “but the foolish woman pulls it down with her hands” (NKJV). That is pretty heavy stuff! We are called to be women who build life. Sadly, as much as I have seen women excel in building, I have also seen them be just as good at tearing down. God has really convicted me about this very point. I am an expert at seeing areas that need to be fixed in my world, whether it be within my church, my children, my husband, or my friends. My flesh seems to always see the negative and would rather pick apart the things that are wrong. One day, as I was getting ready to go into the church for a staff meeting, I was rehearsing all of the little things that were causing me frustration. Maybe they were legitimate issues. Maybe there were some areas that needed attention. But I started to get all worked up, and I made a mental list of all the negative areas that I was not happy with. I even pictured myself letting our staff know what I thought about it! Now, don’t we all tend to do that sometimes? We build something up in our minds and let our emotions take control! But then I heard the Lord speak so clearly to me: “Rachel, you can be a woman, or you can be a woman of God.” I knew right away exactly what the Lord wanted me to hear. Any woman can tear down, but a woman of God builds up.

The question to ask is, “What am I building, and is it exactly what God wants me to build?” I love the scripture, “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it” (Psalms 127:1 NKJV). That is wonderful news! That verse gives us freedom. It’s really not our job to come up with the building plan or blueprint. Our job is to let the master builder, Jesus, come and do a great work within and through us. He wants to build our lives. He wants to use us to build up the lives that are all around us. Unless we allow Him to lead the construction, all that we do will be worthless. Our work will be for nothing. I don’t know about you, but I want what I build to withstand storms and trials. I want my building to outlast my life. I want what I build to be on such a good foundation that future generations can continue to build upon it.

There are so many things that can hinder us from building what God is asking us to build. Maybe the job seems too big. Maybe we do not even know where to begin. Maybe we feel that the life God is asking us to build is somehow insignificant, or we’ve tried building in the past, and it didn’t turn out how we had planned. No matter what the specific reason is, be encouraged that the pressure is not on us. Our only responsibility is to yield ourselves to God and trust in His master plan.

We have a lost and hurting world that is searching and crying out for someone to build them up—to speak life to them. Our children need us to build them up. We need to be the kind of women who see deeper into our kids than maybe what they are portraying at the moment. Ask God to give you the insight that you need to build in them what He desires. Our husbands need us to build them up. I’m not talking about correcting them. I am talking about speaking to the man that you know God wants him to be. A woman of God sees things inside of people and then builds that by speaking life. Our church and its leaders need us to build them up. They need us to speak life, faith, and encouragement into them. Our friends need us to build them up. If we see just a fun person to hang around with, then that is all they will ever be. They will rise to the level that we see in them.

Our friends, family, co-workers, and acquaintances all need to know of the life that Jesus gives. Why not show them firsthand? Begin building a beautiful, strong, and vibrant life through Jesus, our master builder, and He will give you the plans and tools you need to move forward with building up the lives around you.