what am i here for?

We have been exploring Proverbs 14:1 “The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish woman tears hers down with her own hands.” 

In this blog, we are going to look at what it means “to build” as we consider the question, “What Am I Here For?” and thus discover the woman’s destiny. When God created the woman, His intentions were that she would be “a builder”.   

What does it mean “to build”?  The Hebrew word for “build” is “banah”.  It means to build, construct, fashion, fortify, have children, obtain children, rebuild, restore, establish (to make permanent), and to cause to continue.1  The word “banah” is describing much more than a single event; it is describing an ongoing building process.  It is an eternal process and it has eternal consequences.  And there is never a time when the woman is instructed to cease her work of building.   Building your house is what you were created for; it is your eternal destiny. 

How do you build your house? The house is an eternal structure that can only be built through a committed partnership with the Master Builder.    “Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain.” (Psalm 127:1)   As in the natural, so also it is in the spiritual.  The process of building the house can be divided into five phases.  In the natural, the first three phases of construction are performed by the contractor; and the last two phases are performed by the homeowner.  In the spiritual, the first three phases of constructing your destiny are God’s proprietary work; the last two phases are performed by the woman in partnership with God. 

We will call these first three phases: the initial design phase, the initial construction phase, and the interior design phase.  God designs your destiny.  He is a God of order and He begins with a plan.

If you are familiar with the construction of dwellings, you know that the initial design phase begins with a plan, a blueprint that pictures what the dwelling will look like and includes the details and specifications of how the dwelling is to be constructed.  The plan must be designed by someone who understands the whole scope of the project.  And that is exactly where God begins with us.  “When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.” (Psalm 139:15)  God visualized who you would become before one of your days came to be.  “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”  (Jeremiah 29:11)  You were designed with a purpose in mind and God is faithful to accomplish all He has envisioned.
 “I am God, and there is no other… what I have planned, that will I do.”  (Isaiah 46:9, 11) God is the Master Builder and He is in charge of your destiny.  It is not up to you to decide your destiny; it is up to you to seek and find the Master Designer; and in so doing, you will discover what you are here for.  “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33)

After the blueprints are finalized, the initial construction phase begins with performing a soils test to determine if the underlying ground can properly support the weight of the dwelling.  Jesus described this process in Matthew 7:24 -“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise woman who built her house on the rock.” The only way you can build with confidence is to hide the Word of God in your heart (Psalm 119:11) and build on it, because only God is a sure foundation (Isaiah 33:6).

After the soils test is completed, the construction of the foundation may begin.  This too, must be directed by the Master Builder.  “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.”  (1 Corinthians 3:11) Once the foundation has been laid, the structure of the house begins to rise: walls, windows, doors, and roof rise up, and are joined together to form the protective outer covering.   “you also… are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood.” (1 Peter 2:5)

When the exterior construction work has been completed, the interior design phase begins: decorative materials, colors, and finishes are chosen to complete the inner structure so that the home is warm and inviting and comfortable for the occupants.  “For you created my inmost being…I am fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 139: 13, 14 )  “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10)

All these construction phases have been the proprietary work of the Master Builder who designed you and ordered your destiny.  He set all of this in motion before He laid the foundations of the world.  He set everything up with every detail about you in mind. He established the process that will enable you to reach the goal He has determined for you.  And He will neither leave you nor forsake you until all that He has designed is completely finished!  “The LORD will fulfill His purpose for you.”  (Psalm 138:8 ) “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)
Your response to His work in you is to agree with God’s plan and submit to His ways of bringing it about.  When you do that, Psalm 16:5-6 describes the delightful result of your obedience: “LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure.  The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.”  The wise woman builds her house because she has received a spiritual inheritance through the Word of God and the Spirit of God. 

The remaining phases of the construction process require us to partner with God.  Our ultimate destiny is to reproduce the covenant relationship He made with us through the blood of Jesus, and through that covenant to produce eternal fruit.  We can only do that when we are obedient to His Word and as we are empowered by His Holy Spirit.   Therefore, we don’t waste time by building with inferior materials like wood, hay or straw.  These materials symbolize the works of the flesh, works accomplished by our own strength without the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit.  If we do build in this manner, our work will be shown for what it is; it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of our work.   Instead, we choose to build with gold, silver and precious stones; these symbolize the work of the Spirit in us and through us.  That work is acceptable to God; because when it is tested by fire, it will not only survive, it will produce an eternal inheritance. (1 Corinthians 3:12-14) 

The work of building assigned to the woman covers the two remaining building phases: the maintaining phase which includes fruit bearing and warfare, and the repair and improvement phase which includes rebuilding and restoration as captives are set free from their captivity and prisoners are released from their chains.   Have you ever wondered what the difference was between captives and prisoners?  Captives have done nothing wrong; they are being held against their will; but prisoners have committed a crime for which they are being punished.

This next phase of construction began when we received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  At the moment of our new birth, we entered the maintaining phase of building our house and that includes warfare.  Maintenance and warfare are not passive activities.  Soldiers don’t sit in the barracks while the enemy invades the land.  Soldiers are already well-positioned on the front lines; they are armed and ready before the enemy can take up his position and aim his weapons.   And that is how the wise woman builds her house.

Maintenance is defending, standing, resisting, repelling, proclaiming and declaring the truth of God’s Word, and contending for the territory God has already given to us.  That territory includes all that is our house: our physical environment, the atmosphere, our family, neighborhood, co-workers, community, church, state, nation and all the way to the ends of the earth.  Acts 1:8 - “you will be my witnesses…to the ends of the earth.”    God has assigned you a territory without borders!  There are no boundaries to inhibit you from possessing all of the land the LORD God has given to you so that His glory may be seen in all the earth!  That is your destiny! 

Maintaining your house requires preparation through prayer.  “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.”  (Ephesians 6:18)
 
It requires an effective strategy.  “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are ….my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9) God wants us to come up higher in our thinking; He wants us to think brilliantly, like He thinks.  That is how we outwit our enemy’s plots, plans and schemes.
 
Maintaining your house requires fortitude (strength, perseverance, and faith). “They who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength.” (Isaiah 40:31) “Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” ( James 1:2)    “And faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1) “That you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  Stand firm.” (Ephesians 6:13-14)  “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)
 
Maintaining your house requires supernatural empowerment.   “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.”   (Acts 1:8)
 
And maintaining your house requires the authority to act which you have been given through the blood and the Name of Jesus.  “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy.” (Luke 10:19) “In my name you will drive out demons; you will speak in new tongues; you will pick up snakes with your hands; and when you drink deadly poison, it will not hurt you at all; you will place your hands on sick people, and they will get well.” (Mark 16:17-18)  “At the Name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.”  (Philippians 2:10)

The wise woman builds her house by defending her territory.  We call this warfare.  We have an enemy who is dead set on tearing our house down.  He is the unseen spirit of this world.  Therefore, the wise woman understands that she does not wage war against any human being; because every earthly relationship God has given to her is for her good and for His glory. 
 
Our minds are the battleground and it is here we set up the first line of defense.    1 Corinthians 2:16 - “But we have the mind of Christ.”  We need to be still and allow the Lord to download His powerful laser-like strategy that He has specifically designed for the situation we are currently facing.   
 
Ephesians 2:6  - “We are seated with him in the heavenly realms in Christ.”   This is where we have already been placed by the grace of God; and it is the evidence that we are already invested with His power and His authority over our enemy.   Our enemy is a defeated foe even before the battle commences; but his strategy is to plant lies in our minds to make us believe we are powerless and we can’t win.
 
Colossians 3:2 - “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”  This is the high ground position from which we have a distinct advantage over our enemy.  This is where we learn how to think like God thinks, see what God sees, and love others with God’s heart.  But it requires our making a conscious choice!
 
Ephesians 6:16-18 -  “take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  And pray in the Spirit.”  2 Corinthians 10:5 - “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”  These are the weapons of our warfare; they are powerful and effective in refuting the lies our enemy has sought to plant in our minds; and with them, we are able to dislodge him from illegally occupying our territory. 
 
“We overcome by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of our testimony, and because we do not love our lives so much as to shrink from death.  (Revelation 12:11)   Success in warfare requires our remaining in the abiding Presence of God.  Success in warfare requires our obedience to employ the strategies of God.  And success in warfare requires that we give God all the glory.  The victory we celebrate does not come about because of our performance; it comes about because of where God has placed us.  The wise woman builds her house by being alert, watchful, and self-controlled as she actively repels the enemy’s invasion of her mind by keeping her eyes focused on Jesus as Lord of her thoughts. 

The last phase of the construction process is the repair and improvement phase which includes rebuilding and restoration.  The primary operators in this phase are our hearts and the Holy Spirit.  Our hearts are the seat of the will and the emotions; and this phase requires us to make a conscious choice to remain in the will of God regardless of how we “feel”.    This can only be accomplished by practicing the Fruit of the Spirit which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.  These are not describing a range of emotions; these are describing a conscious, will-driven strategy God has given to us to so that we become what He has designed us to be.  We are to be builders. The wise woman builds her house by practicing the Fruit of the Spirit.  She sees difficult situations as opportunities to grow her faith.  Instead of wringing her hands in the face of adversity, she uses the opportunity to ask God “What are you teaching me through this difficulty that you could not teach me any other way?”  And she sees difficult people as opportunities to grow in grace.   Instead of reacting to their negativity, she uses the opportunity to ask God “What Fruit of the Spirit would you have me allocate in this situation?”  Grace transforms negativity; grace changes the atmosphere and sets the captives free.   The wise woman builds her house by being a game changer!

“Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice.” (Philippians 4:9)  You can only practice what you have become.  Someone with a law degree practices law; someone with a medical degree practices medicine.  The wise woman practices the Fruit of the Spirit because she has the identity God gave her in Christ.  She has the mind of Christ.  And she has the Holy Spirit living in her.  She has the truth of God’s Word established in her mind and firmly rooted in her heart so that when she opens her mouth, “she brings good things out of the good stored up in her heart.” (Luke 6:45)   “Her conversation is always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that she may know how to answer everyone.” (Colossians 4:6) The wise woman builds her house with words of encouragement.  She blesses and does not curse.  “When we bless something or someone, we raise it spiritually.”2 She looks for the good in every situation and speaks only goodness into the atmosphere.  She looks for the good in everyone and speaks the higher calling of God into their lives.  And she gives thanks with a grateful heart in all situations. Finally, what occupies our minds and is stored in our hearts will direct the work of our hands.    Colossians 3: 17 - “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

The wise woman builds her house.  She understands that God is the designer of her destiny for “it is in Christ that she finds out what she is here for.”  (Ephesians 1:11).  She invites Jesus to be Lord of her mind, and allows Him to reframe her thinking because she wants to think brilliantly.  She welcomes and embraces the empowerment of the Holy Spirit in her heart to direct her in the way she should go.  She understands that she has been called to go and bear fruit that will last for all eternity (John 15:16), so that the whole earth is filled with a people who live in covenant relationship with God and with each other.  She “lives a life worthy of the calling she has received” (Ephesians 4:1) because she understands “God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.” (Romans 11:29).  And she understands that because of the spiritual inheritance she has received, she has an obligation to pass on a spiritual heritage to the next generation that will enable them to do even greater things than she has done.

“Many are the plans in a woman’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.”  (Proverbs 19:21)
Is this how you are building your house?

Shalom!
Linda
© 2020 Linda Sue Harper
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1 www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/hebrew/nas/banah.html
2 Schechter, Shira, The Israel Bible, 2016, www.the israelbible.com