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Hi, my name is Chenai Mbanga! Welcome to my blog! I write to encourage, inspire and empower you in growing in your spiritual life through reflections and prose. I have been writing on this blog for 5 years now, and it has been a journey! Join me as I continue my journey toward self-actualizing.❤

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Foundations

 

pic via @blackexistence

Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. |Psalm 127:1|

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In God’s kingdom we are called to be builders, with Jesus as our masterbuilder and foundation. But in building we must ask ourselves: what am I investing my time, money, my efforts in, and is this the work God has given me to erect? Am I on assignment from God, or is this my will or something merely born of passion that I’m begging God to bless?


We are called to build with care. It means we ought to be particular about how and with what we are using our minds, hands, creativity to build. Would you use straw to lay a foundation to build a skyscraper? Yet, many of us, we are using all our time on earth to build glorious monuments that before God will be like chaff in the wind.

 

 If God does not build the house, your labour is in vain. Why? Because your works are going to go through a test, and that test will render your works worthy or worthless. Your work will be shown for what it is, and will be revealed with fire, whether you built with strong materials and your foundation was Jesus, or your works were built with straw and hay and consumed by fire. 

 

I’m learning the value of allowing God to build my confidence, my career, my home, my communities, my relationships…every aspect of my life. It has been a journey for me to come to a place where I surrender all and allow God to build my life. The feeling of starting over has been unbearable; having to re-route my expectations and direction left me incredibly fearful but I am daily deciding to trust God; to be particular about the materials with which to build my life, daily casting off fear that for so long weighed me down.  Because sometimes fear and disappointments cause us to cut corners, picking what is easier, and within reach, rather than the weightier materials that’re sturdier and require greater cost, greater patience and greater effort to acquire.


And I’m beginning to understand that it’s a fearful thing to build something that is only going to be turned to dust; to spend my years on earth erecting things as fine as gossamer and just as fragile. 

Whatever God empowers us to build is not in vain. He is the one who gives us the ideas; the inspiration, direction; he brings people to us and positions us. 


And how does one get to this point where we are flowing and allowing Him to build us? Talk to Him: pray consistently. Pray intentionally. Pray in humility and let His Spirit embolden you. Read His word. He will start to speak through it. Pay attention to His servants and listen to Him speak through them. Listen as He answers you, directs you. Confirm everything through God. Be obedient to His word and direction. Stop doubting every moment and every word, and rethinking, revising, reorganizing His words. If He says left, go left. If he says wait, then wait. If he says use silver to build a particular thing, don’t say I can’t afford silver so I’ll use brass instead. That’s not obedience. If he says start that project, don’t say “a million other people are doing the same thing, I want to do something unique instead.” That’s not obedience.


Be a good builder. If He gives you work to do, don’t drop the work to start something new because it isn’t going according to plan. If it’s of God, He will lead you to the right materials to build with, so that, on the day of judgement, when it is tested, what you’ve built will survive. And for what you’ve built, you’ll receive a reward. 

 

Again I’m imploring you; let God build your house.



If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames. |1Corinthians3:12-15|