Built by God
Deciding who we will be in the pressure-filled moments of life doesn’t come when the heat is turned up, but rather in the quiet spaces of being built by God.
Being the person who falls to their knees when life hits hard comes from moments of sharing quiet victories, concerns, and hopes with the Lord when trouble is nowhere on the horizon. Opening the Word of God on our worst day is only conceivable when that book has become our lifeline in the ordinary happenings of our days. Calling a friend who can hold us accountable in our greatest mistakes happens best when we’ve allowed ourselves to be known and loved by those who truly care.
Being present to show-up for someone in need doesn’t happen when we’ve been absent in the simple moments of life. Being available to listen in someone’s moment of despair only happens when we’ve been present to listen in the mundane moments too. Leaning in to support the weight of someone falling to their knees comes after we’ve patted them on the back and cheered them on in victory. People, by nature, are far more willing to allow us into the painful spaces of their stories when we have journeyed through the beautiful places well.
We are not abruptly created in moments of turmoil; instead, who we have been made into, through time in the secret place, is tested in the fire of our trials.
The days of calm and normalcy are the days that we must choose to steal away with the Lord to be made into the person, who by faith, can withstand the storms of life. The ordinary days of coffee dates and birthday parties are the foundation of community that enable us to sit in the sorrow-filled silence alongside those who grieve. The regular habits of prayer and Bible reading are what fuel our ability to walk into irregular happenings with strength and confidence.
The mundane moments of life where we are being built by a careful and intentional God are what allow us to step into the majestic with the authority He has granted. Knowing God deeply and seeking to make Him known through the simple happenings of our days are what allow us to carry Him well into the darkest of nights.
We cannot decide in the middle of a storm who we will be; who we are in the storm has already been determined by who we were in the calm.
Being built by God requires only the humility to surrender ourselves into the Master’s hands and trust Him to build us strong for all that life will present.
So friends, let’s acknowledge that our quick-turning-world full of turmoil is in need of those who have been repaired and prepared by the Savior. We must allow the Savior, whose name is Jesus, to salvage all of the broken parts of us so that when the storms arrive we will be built to stand firm. Allow God to build you as a house “dug down deep” with a “foundation on rock” so that when crisis arrives you will not be shaken. (Luke 6:48)
© Dani Hardy, “Built by God” April 3, 2019
Reference:
“They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it.” Luke 6:48, Holy Bible (NIV)