Have you ever been guilty of attempting to Build the Wrong House? Sometimes in my eagerness to serve or help, I start trying to help everyone and instead of following the blueprints God designed just for me, I let the Enemy distract me into building the house he created for someone else. In Banning Liebscher’s book entitled Rooted, his encouragement to thrive, or flourish, is “to focus on building the wall [house] in front of you. Some of the most powerful lessons God wants to teach us are the simplest.” So, if you encounter me veering into your lane, just feel free to use the catchphrase, “Julie, are you building the wrong house?” and I will humbly return to my own house.

Liebscher’s analogy of building the wall in front of you comes from the book of Nehemiah when God spoke to the Jewish leader and assigned him the task of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. Explaining the story, Liebscher offers, “From what we can gather, Nehemiah said, ‘Walk out your front door and look directly in front of you. The wall that’s directly in front of you-build that.’ Simple yet strategic. This is a powerful picture for how God works in our lives. Sometimes we miss what He is doing right in front of us because we look longingly at other people’s portions of the wall, wanting to build those areas. We get distracted watching other people in other assignments and seasons of life, and the grass always looks greener at their section of the wall.”

Building the Wrong House captures the idea that many, myself included, wrestle with in our personal and professional lives, and that tension is felt when we desire to follow the path God designed just for us but because “it usually doesn’t look like the promise, dream, or vision we have in our hearts, or it looks different than a friend or colleague’s, we fail to be faithful to building our own wall. Faithfulness to build the wall is not giving up your dream; it’s trusting God with your dream.”

One of my dreams is to equip a Flourishing Generation, and in order to achieve this dream, I believe emerging adults are at a critical juncture and in need of guidance from wise and loving mentors. If I am to trust this dream of creating a mentoring model students and colleagues can utilize, then I must be faithful in that endeavor which means not allowing the Enemy to push me into Building the Wrong House. Reminding myself how easy it is for me to become distracted; I imagine the struggle younger generations face when attempting to navigate their own wall. This is one of the many reasons I believe creating an intergenerational mentoring model is needed so that the emerging generation can witness the various construction methods God uses to build a career or life. My house/wall may be constructed using wood and nails, but another person’s wall may be built with steel and bolts.

Deep within my heart, I believe that God will use our talents and passions as an outlet for service to Him. He calls us into the places and organizations, our own section of the wall, where we can flourish personally and professionally while being a good neighbor to those who form relationships with us. One of the reasons I hope students will choose to create a Habit of Awareness is to learn about the person God created them to be in order to build the right house so that when they attempt to Build the Wrong House, God will nudge them back to where they belong.

I frequently must ask for forgiveness from God and others when I try to Build the Wrong House because I can be rather stubborn. Thankfully, patience and grace abound until I can find my way back to the right house. Have you ever experienced a time when you were nudged back when you attempted to Build the Wrong House? Please feel free to share how you were made aware of being in the wrong location.

Reference:

Liebscher, B. (2016). Rooted: The hidden places where God develops you. WaterBrook Press.