MaryEllen Montville

“Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.” –Psalm 127:1

I was awakened to this one Word in my Spirit: Renovations, plural.

Now, I love a good home renovation episode as much as the next guy: replacing outdated countertops and hardware, giving aesthetically unpleasing or ill-functioning cabinetry a fresh, latest look. Updating what is outdated and ineffective, watching it transform into something that changes the home’s function and atmosphere, and breathing new life into what no longer worked is fulfilling to watch unfold. And not only for the owner, but for everyone who gets to experience that transformation.

But the Holy Spirit didn’t show me an aesthetically pleasing renovation.

The houses He renovates often involve a far more labor-intensive, “deconstruct-to-reconstruct” process, spiritually speaking. The Lord Jesus often reconstructs, “a job at a time,” lest the homeowner grow faint under the meticulous work of the Master Builders.

Holy Spirit’s renovation work focuses on the building’s structure—what upholds, supports, and covers the home—not simply upgrading its cosmetic flaws. His deconstruct-to-reconstruct renovation process made sense to me, as I understand God is far more concerned with our character, our “support beams, roof, our pilings and the footings of our foundations” than He is with how aesthetically pleasing to the eye, if you will, our “house” is.

God’s heart, His desire from eternity past, is that His children walk uprightly in obedience and fellowship with Him, that He might bless those who do. “For the Lord God is a Sun and Shield; the Lord bestows [present] grace and favor and [future] glory (honor, splendor, and heavenly bliss)! No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” –Psalm 84:11. What earthly parent doesn’t want their child to grow up strong, confident in their parents’ love, living a good life built on an unshakable, righteous character—how much more than does God desire this for His children—and those He is calling to become His own even now.

God desires our proverbial house to reflect the righteous character of His Master Builder, Jesus, character placed in it the moment He took possession of it: Love, joy, kindness, goodness, self-control, patience, peace, faithfulness, and gentleness. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” –Galatians 5:22-23.

God made it possible for our homes to be “constructed” with these incalculable materials through Jesus’ sacrificial life, death, and resurrection—summed up aptly in Jesus’ final words: tetelestai, “It is finished.” The deed to your house, paid in full. Man’s sinful debt satisfied by Jesus’ sinless death.

Each man’s proverbial house is his soul, and only God can reconstruct a soul, returning it to its intended condition. “He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” –Psalm 23:3

Future homes will continue to be renovated: “deconstructed-to-be-reconstructed” until Jesus calls us all home. “For just as through one man’s disobedience [his failure to hear, his carelessness] the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of the one Man the many will be made righteous and acceptable to God and brought into right standing with Him.” –Romans 5:19

For our houses to be brought into right standing with God, some of His children will endure a far more intensive renovation process than others.

Because God loves them less?

Not possible!

No. It’s because of Jesus’ great love that some of His children will experience the more intensive renovation needed to keep their proverbial house standing, ready to pass inspection by its Omniscient, Omnipotent, Omnificent Owner.

New girders will need to replace unstable main beams, and new floor joists will need to be laid to help carry weight straight to its foundation. Why? God knows the weight this house will carry—and how it must be built to withstand the storms of life, year after year…

Other homes may need new shingles to replace leaky patches on their roofs, keeping the elements out and protecting the work He’s already completed within. If the roof is faulty or leaky, it will eventually damage what lies beneath it—the walls, beams, and wiring—things essential for a safe, solid, well-built home. Additionally, mold and mildew can grow quickly in such conditions, causing this house quite literally to make its owner sick.

Thus, God repairs what’s faulty to make this house safe not only for its owner, but for all who enter…

In other homes, God sees the need to dig out the foundation and pour a deeper, far more stable footing that will undergird what He is constructing for years to come; God will use this major delay in the home’s construction to teach its owner patience and endurance.

Other homes still need to learn to rely on the Master Builder’s plans and materials rather than employing outside builders or employing inferior “do-it-yourself” materials in their own handy work, so-called. God will allow fiery trials to burn away the faulty tools and materials of self-reliance and put a stop to such building practices entirely.

Others have been built to face the vicious storms of adversity head-on; God has fortified their structures with indefatigable materials to withstand the warring storms that will rage against them and protect those God has called to enter them. “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” –Matthew 7:24–25

And then there is the home of the prodigal.

Faulty materials were used when its owner cut corners and squandered the precious resources the Master Builder provided during its construction. Instead, they rejected the Master Builder’s offer of supplies, relied on their scant building knowledge, or hired less trustworthy builders who used shoddy materials to build their house. “But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its collapse!” – Matthew 7:26-27

As a result, they may taste the Master Builder’s severe mercy. His rigorous gutting of whole sections of their house, rebuilding them afresh, and shoring up their foundation, enabling them finally to withstand the Master Builder’s future additions. The Patriarch Jacob could easily attest to this Truth…

Beloved, only God Himself, the Good, Loving, Master Builder of the house, knows why He’s chosen and appointed some houses and not others for such rigorous deconstruct-to-reconstruct renovations.

The following Scriptures, however, point us, in part, towards an answer. “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” –Romans 5:1-5

Be sure of this, dear homeowner: whatever the trial Jesus allows to touch your house is for your good, to strengthen, purify, fortify, or refine your house and its reliance on Him, and it will result in your good and God’s glory. “These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” —1 Peter 1:7

Who has built your house, friend? Was it the Master Builder, or have you taken matters into your own hands and built it yourself? Before you answer, consider the weight of today’s verse. “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.” –Psalm 127:1

Friend, it is never too late to invite the Master Builder to renovate anything that needs updating in your house…

.