September 2, 2022
Destined to Be a Builder
Mary Southerland
Today’s Truth
For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11 NLT).
Friend to Friend
Our son was born to be a builder. From the time he could hold a red plastic hammer in his toddler-sized hands, Jered began hammering imaginary nails into the coffee table, fixing everything that was broken in our house. No wooden surface in our home was safe from Jered’s scrutiny or design.
Since my husband enjoyed woodworking, he built Jered a miniature workbench beside his own. Several nights each week, Dan and Jered headed to the garage to pound and hammer and do what they called “man stuff.” I thought it was cute – a philosophy that would drastically change in the years to come.
When he was in middle school, Jered built a clubhouse inside our garage. He scrounged wood and “treasures” from neighborhood dumpsters and construction sites. The clubhouse had a carpeted floor, four walls, and a roof. It also had a working window unit to keep his friends cool during their club meetings. It was truly a work of art!
Jered built a jewelry box for my birthday and a queen-size bunk bed over a built-in desk and bookshelves to conserve space in his room. Looking back, I didn’t realize those plastic tools would pave the way for our son’s career. Today, he is a project site manager for a large construction company here in Kansas City as well as a master carpenter and builder.
Jered reminds me of another young man who was destined to become a builder – Jesus.
Jesus’s earthly father Joseph was a carpenter and taught Jesus everything he knew about being a master carpenter. In those days, it was not uncommon for the son to carry on his father’s business. I often wonder if Jesus had a little workbench beside Joseph’s. I imagine Jesus probably followed His daddy around, hammering alongside His father’s true blows. Joseph may have had to remove a few stray nails driven by Jesus and even repair a few of his son’s “jobs.”
Did Jesus make a jewelry box for His mother, or did He build a piece of furniture that Mary treasured like I treasure everything Jered has ever built for our home?
Jesus was just like His Father – God, the ultimate architect and builder.
Yes, God is the Master Creator, but His greatest creations are not of wood or stone. God was and is the creator of eternal masterpieces like you and me.
“For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11 NLT).
There are no accidents with God. Before we were ever conceived in the heart and mind of man, we were conceived in the heart and mind of God. Wanted, loved, and planned since before the world began. He had a plan in mind and lovingly, purposefully created us in response to that plan.
I know there are days when the plan of God seems completely wrong, and we simply don’t understand. It is in those shadowed moments that we must choose to trust the Plan Maker, the Master Designer.
“For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9 NLT).
Even though our faith is small, and we cannot understand the plan or make sense of His divine blueprints, God’s ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. One day, every one of our question marks will be yanked into exclamation points as we see that plan like God sees it – perfect.
Let’s Pray
Father, forgive me when I stubbornly choose to ignore Your plan. Thank You for always being ready to rescue me from my own selfish desires and decisions. Help me remember that Your plan is the best plan for my life and give me the strength to follow You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Now It’s Your Turn
Have you ever wondered why you were even born? Do feelings of insecurity and doubt plague your life? Read Psalm 29:11. Pinpoint God’s promises for you.
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© 2022 by Mary Southerland. All rights reserved.
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