Build Up. Clean Out

"Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house." -Proverbs 24:27 (KJV)

"And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down. Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction. Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man." -Proverbs 24:31-34 (KJV)

Do our relationships with God have strong walls and weedless fields or are the walls surrounding us easily penetrated by the enemy? If we try to go out and work for the Kingdom of God with walls that the enemy can simply walk over and a life full of so many weeds that our works get chocked out, how can we expect to be effective? Here we are told that we should build up and prepare the fields before we build our house so in other words we need to build up and prepare our relationship with strong walls, constantly weeding out the thistles and nettles before we build up our ministry and calling. Without the field prepared we will become useless and overthrown in our calling.    

The moment we start doing something that would impact those around us we are defeated and overthrown by the enemy. For instance if we start praying for someone to be saved and then, due to our crumbling walls, we start quarreling with those closest to us how can we expect to be effective? We must first build up our walls in a faith in God that is built upon the Word of God before we can start doing what God has called us to.

Also the thorns and nettles. These are the things in our lives that suck away all the nutrients that we receive from the Word of God. These are things that draw our attention away from God whether inherently good or bad in itself. We must weed these out and not fold our hands in complacency. If we allow these things to grow in our lives unchecked then soon they will overcome our lives and drown out the good crop, the things that we are doing for the Kingdom of God. Which is why we need to get rid of these weeds, the major ones, before we can begin to build our calling that God has placed on our lives.

In saying all of this, do not fall victim to laziness and slumber because in the end it only reaps destruction. Do not try to build up your house in the Kingdom without first preparing the fields. We must not take the tasks that God has given lightly nor disregard His instruction. I pray that you take this to heart and let God guide you in the weeding and building so that your field may be prepared for what He has called you to do.

So while I am here at Bible school I want to spend the time building up the walls that surround my life so that I may be able to withstand the attacks of the enemy. I also want to spend the time cleaning my life of all that distracts me and keeps me from being effective in what He calls me to do.