Every wise woman builds her house, but a foolish one tears it down with her own hands. Proverbs 14:1
BUILD – Proverbs 14:1
At the beach this summer, I am planning on building a sand castle. It feels like such a fanciful and fun thing to do! Taking the sand and crafting a beautiful castle – well, let’s be honest, I’ve never really been good at building sand castles, so it will probably not be beautiful. But it will be fun!
A special verse
This devotional’s verse about building a house is a very special one to me. My first year of marriage was pretty hard for me. I was the baby of the family, used to getting pretty much what I wanted. I was a straight-A student, used to people telling me that I was good at things. During my senior year of college, I lived in a single room, with lots of alone time, used to doing whatever I wanted.
A Rude Awakening
Marriage was a rude awakening to the fact that I had to include someone else in my decisions, that someone would not always agree with me or want the same things, that I would be living with someone and not alone very much at all. I never realized I was selfish…until I had to consider someone else’s wishes. I had no clue that I needed time alone…until I didn’t have any.
Feelings of resentment rising
I loved my husband, but I found myself resenting him and becoming snippy and angry. About that time, God led me to this scripture in Proverbs and spoke to me.
Every wise woman builds her house, but a foolish one tears it down with her own hands. Proverbs 14:1
With my attitude, I was foolishly tearing down what I actually wanted to build. God challenged me to put aside my resentments and make the choice to build my marriage rather than tear it down.
An effective wake-up call
After this wake-up call from God, I had a new mindset and my attitude started to change as I changed my actions and words. When negative thoughts would pop into my head, I would push them aside and tell myself to choose thoughts and words that would build my marriage and home rather than tearing it down.
This wake-up call is not just for me! The thing is that we can apply this verse to any area of our lives.
We can choose to build friendships with attention and love rather than tear them down with neglect or anger.
We can choose to build our business or career through consistent hard work rather than tear it down by doing ineffective busy-work or wasted time.
We can choose to build our relationships with our spouses or kids rather than tearing them down with snippy comments or unrealistic expectations.
We can choose to build our relationship with God through daily devotional time in prayer and God’s Word rather than ignoring Him until we need something.
What area of your life have you been foolishly tearing down? What area is God challenging you to build with His wisdom?
Action Step:
Take a moment to be really honest with yourself. Ask God to reveal to you if there is something you are foolishly tearing down rather than building. Ask Him to give you wisdom for building what He wants you to build. Decide on a few actions you can do today to start building in the area God is calling you to.
Maybe he wants to encourage you because you are already building something He has called you to do. Perhaps He wants you to make some adjustments in your life right now.
Prayer:
Dear God, Please open our eyes to the areas we need to be building rather than tearing down. Give me your wisdom in what to do and keep reminding me until I get it right! In Jesus’ name, amen.
Free Printables for BUILD (Sand Castle):
If you would like a free printable for the Bible Art Journaling above, there is one in the Free Resource Library.
If you do not have the password for the Free Resource Library, click here.