WHOSE HOUSE?
Psalms 127:1 NKJV
Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the Lord guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain.
Sports teams often talk about defending their house. When opposing teams come to play, the vernacular is often about protecting "our house" or "not in our house." Some announcers at games shout out, "Whose house?" And the response is our house.
Today, we see a verse that I have often gone to over the years. This is a personal verse for me because it speaks to who is building what I set my hand to do. Am I the one building my house, or is it the Lord doing the building? We recognize that the term 'house' is a metaphor to represent anything being built. The house can be a career, business, ministry, or even marriage. Who is the builder? Am I behind the idea of the house, or is it the Lord? This really gets into the concept of who is leading our lives. Are we trusting in the Lord with all our heart and not leaning on our understanding? Or are we going about with our plans and then asking the Lord to bless them?
I have to look no further than my own family to see this verse in operation. My father, who is in heaven now, was an outstanding salesman who had moved up in the corporate world. But he wanted to have his own business. So he left a good job and struck out on his own. He did build a business that, at its peak, had seventeen employees. But it seemed to be a constant struggle. He was great at sales, not as gifted at management, or at other key strategic areas, and you never did sense the Lord's hand in the building of that business. In talking with my father, he said that the way he did things was to make a plan and ask the Lord to bless it. But that is not the Lord building the house; that was my father doing the building. Notice the verse never said the house did not get built, just that the labor was in vain.
I will contrast that experience with my own, the second time Joy and I started a church. The first time was definitely not the Lord's plan or idea. The plan was mine, and it did not work. The second time, I did not want to start a church, so I was looking for an existing church that needed a pastor. But that was one dead end after another. Thankfully, I finally got willing to obey the Lord and start the church. We had no sponsor. No one funded the start. We had no live worship for the first two years. We only knew a couple of people in Conroe, and our team consisted of two couples. All of those factors are recipes for failure. Add to that my lack of experience leading a church staff. I had been a volunteer for fifteen years and a salesman, but never a church staff member or even a sales manager. It all looked like a plan doomed to fail. But. But it was not my plan. I was not building this house, this church. The Lord was the builder, and despite our small beginnings, lack of funding, and lack of experience, the house was built and is still being built. Oh, sure, there have been challenges, but just knowing that The Ark was the Lord's plan and His hand is on it brings a big level of peace and confidence.
I am not as smart as my father. But I learned a great lesson that escaped him. Instead of making my plans and asking the Lord to bless them. I ask the Lord what His plan for me is. His plans are already blessed.
APPLICATION
This week, ask the Lord if there is anything you are doing or planning to do that is not His plan. It's a prayer that takes courage. But always keep in mind that if He is the builder, your ability to overcome challenges and problems is greatly enhanced!