Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.
Psalm 127:1
The theme of this Lenten period for the Prayer Team is “Arise & Build,” based on Nehemiah 2:18. Each week we will examine one or two words of this verse, and for week three of Great Lent, we move to the word “Build.”
To build means to construct or create something. We build different things, including material structures, buildings, and immaterial things, such as relationships. We build our lives, we build resumes, and we build a relationship with the Lord.
In order to build anything, there are basic principles that can be applied to all areas of life, and all kinds of things that we build. For the Orthodox Christian, the Lord must fit into any plans to build. Psalm 127:1, which is one of the Psalms we hear frequently during Great Lent as it is read at all Pre-Sanctified Divine Liturgies, begins with a reminder that “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.” This verse is a reminder that whatever we build will not stand if the Lord wasn’t factored into the building plans.
Everything that is built has a foundation. Jesus addresses the importance of having a foundation of faith in Matthew 7:24-27, which is part of the Sermon on the Mount (which is Matthew chapters 5-7). In these verses, Jesus says “Everyone then who hears these words of Mine and does them will be alike a wise man who built his house upon the rock; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand; and the rain fell, and the flood came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it.” It will be impossible to hide a bad foundation. Eventually the structure will collapse if what it has been built upon is not firm. Those of us who have had kids can remember them building something and the foundation isn’t good. We told them to shore up the foundation first, but they would want to keep building, and not backtrack. Eventually, their structure came down because the foundation wasn’t firm. If the foundation of any aspect of your life doesn’t feel firm, we shouldn’t just plow ahead with building but instead go and shore it up. If Christ is not the foundation of your life, the good news is that He can be installed, or re-installed at any time.
In order to build something, one must have an inventory of tools and resources. Only God builds from nothing. Each time we build, we must have something. The ultimate source of everything is God. If we build with wood, from a tree we planted, we did not plant the first tree, God made the first tree. Even from the things we have grown, God is still the source. The same thing can be said for building a record in college of academic success. It is God who first blesses us with intelligence and talents that draw us to the academic disciplines in which we excel.
Building takes planning. In Luke 14:28-30, Jesus says “For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’” Building requires plans. A goal without a plan in a dream that does not come to fruition. The plan to build not only involves an architect, but a financial plan, and the asking of a sober question—Do I have the means to bring to completion the thing I dream to do? It is one thing to have a dream, and even to have a plan, but one also needs the appropriate financial plan in addition to the design plan.
It takes a team of people to build. When you build a house, you need all kinds of specialists—electrician, plumber, carpenter, brick-layer, roofer and architect, just to name a few. In order to build a spiritual life, one needs a spiritual father as well as a community around them. If we are trying to build a church community, it needs to have a priest, choir, chanter, parish council, Sunday school teachers, stewardship committee members, etc. No one can build everything on their own.
There is also a process by which things are build—there are plans and permits needed, supplies must be procured. Knowing the steps to follow to reach completion is essential.
When our son Nicholas was born eighteen years ago, I received a letter from His Eminence Metropolitan Alexios congratulating us on his birth. He wrote something profound that I have thought of often—You are now co-creators with God. And that’s because the creation of a child brings together a mother and father and the divine presence of a soul, which comes from God. The idea of being a co-creator with God can be ascribed to other things as well. If the genesis of every good thing that we have is from God, when we create something that is good, we are co-creating it with God. And when we recognize that we are working in concert with God, it will be easier to find purpose, order, and focus. We are more likely to be careful.
It is important to note, however, that even after careful assessments, there will be challenges when we want to build anything. Doubts, setbacks and questions will arise. This is why it is essential that we keep that faith, and keep God at the center of what we are doing. Despite his plans, his faith and his fervor, Nehemiah was still questioned. In Nehemiah 2:19-20, we read “But when Sanballat and Horonite and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they derided us and despised us and said, ‘what is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?’ Then I replied to them, ‘The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build; but you have no portion or right or memorial in Jerusalem.’” Nehemiah met resistance with confidence, not only in himself but in God, because he had placed God as his center and as his foundation.
Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he give to his beloved sleep. Lo, sons are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the sons of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate. Psalm 127
Some questions to ponder: Have you ever tried to build something without the Lord being a part of the planning? How does the Lord figure into the life you are building for yourself? What foundation is most important in your life?
