“For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.” Hebrews 3:4
Having a son studying building construction has made me notice even more verses that relate to this. When Andrew was recently visiting, the Lord directed me to this verse during a quiet time. What a difference it can make when I truly grasp that I am a work in progress (and stop expecting myself to have it all together) and to realize that everyone around me is too! Until the moment I die, as long as I am in this world, I am under construction!
But what joy to realize this work is being executed by the Almighty Living God, the Ultimate Master Builder who never runs out of resources or energy, who always knows exactly what needs to be done when and is faithful to do it, who never wipes His hands and declares me a futile project!
But this really hit home while Andrew was visiting, because well, both of us are pretty strong willed – and at times we can really clash because of that. And while I was thinking about this analogy I realized how when the Lord is building the “house” of someone who is a leader, well, it’s like the skyscrapers downtown – you need steel beams for those. Those beams are so vital for supporting the structure! And they make possible all the functions those buildings are going to have. But during the construction process, well, those beams aren’t always in the right place. When they are first unloaded, they are often deposited anywhere – and you can really get hurt by them if you don’t watch out! You can stub your toe on them, or get knocked over by them or even seriously damaged, especially when the builder is in the process of repositioning them.
I can’t even begin to count the numbers of times I’ve been hurt by leaders whose beams (aka strong will) weren’t yet where the Lord wants them to be! That doesn’t mean that being strong willed is wrong – but unless it’s in its correct God-directed position it can cause a lot of damage! And no one starts out with all their beams in the right place!
So yes, I’m having this quiet time the day after Andrew’s beams and my beams have collided! And it so helped me get perspective on it… and prepared my heart to apologize. For my strong will had, in that instance, been misdirected. I’d been adamant and passionate about a gray area and I was wrong.
Now every single person is a work in process, a building under construction, but with leaders, especially young leaders, those in-process areas are often more evident and have potential to cause even more injury. I just love how this analogy is helping me learn to better extend grace – to myself, but also, even more importantly, to young leaders around me, especially when I’m hurt by them!
It certainly helped me better relate with the young leader who came from me! :0) Got to love how timely the Lord’s insights are!
Restful Heart 