Proverbs 24:3, “Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established.”

 

A builder cannot build a home without tools. He needs a saw, hammer, spirit level and plumb line etc. We also need tools in order to build a godly home? We cannot build without the tools of love, forgiveness, encouragement, understanding, positivity, prayer and intercession and so on. But the Word of God tells us that the main building tool we need is wisdom.

Proverbs 9:1 says, “Wisdom has built her house, she has hewn out her seven pillars.” The tool of wisdom builds seven pillars that make a marriage and home strong and durable. What are these seven pillars? I believe they are recorded for us in James 3:17, “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.”

A pillar is a strong support to hold up a building. As we seek with wisdom to build these pillars into our home and marriage, we will build a home that is strong and secure and that will stand the trials and storms that will inevitably buffet us.

1. THE PILLAR OF PURITY.

The word “pure” in the Greek is “hagnos” which means “freedom from defilements or impurities, pure in body, mind and spirit, unpolluted, clean, modest, chaste.” As we build the pillar of purity, we will seek to guard our home from all defiling movies, literature, Internet and anything that would taint the minds of our children. God is looking for clean minds, clean hearts and clean homes where He can dwell. Hebrews 12:14 says, “Follow peace with all men, and holiness (hagnos), without which no man shall see the Lord.”

Continually pray for the purifying power of the Holy Spirit to blow through your home. Regularly check your home for worldly books and videos, toys, pictures and ornaments that can infiltrate your home. God commands us in Deuteronomy 7:25-26, “Nor shall you bring an abomination into your house, lest you be doomed to destruction like it; but you shall utterly detest it and utterly abhor it, for it is an accursed thing.” Read also Deuteronomy 18:9-14, Psalm 24:3-5; 51:10; 73:1 and Isaiah 1:16.

2. THE PILLAR OF PEACE MAKING.

In every hurtful situation, there is always an opportunity to make peace. We can choose to thrust the sword in further, to make the wound wider or to demand the last say -- but the end result is destruction. The hardest thing to do is to give a soft answer, to respond with forgiveness and make steps toward peace – but this will build a strong marriage and home. This pillar will fill your home with blessing. Jesus Himself told us this, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” (Matthew 5:9)  Are you building the peace-making pillar in your home? Is it crumbling or standing strong?

3. THE PILLAR OF GENTLENESS.

This seems a paradox doesn’t it? How can gentleness be a strong pillar? David confessed in Psalm, “Thy gentleness has made me great.” (Psalm 18:35) A gentle spirit is very precious in the sight of God. It is very precious to a husband too. It is a very precious pillar in the home. (1 Peter 3:4) Man’s wisdom tells us to be self-assertive. The wisdom from above tells us to have a gentle spirit. The word literally means, “forbearing”. In other words, we should react with gentleness rather than sharply and rudely when our children or husband make us mad. This pillar will add divine strength to you, your marriage and your family.

The other evening our daughter and husband and their seven children sat around our table for supper. As we enjoyed our meal each one of us, including the children, shared the new revelation that God had been revealing to us. Because I was thinking about building pillars in our home, I asked the children, “How do you think we can build a pillar of gentleness in the home?” Ten-year-old Zadok responded, “No harsh words, no yelling, no arguing and no negativity to one another.” Five-year-old Crusoe answered, “No rudeness to one another.” They had the right answers, didn’t they?

Dear mother, you have a big job on hand. Don’t give up on this great task of building your pillars. We will talk about the rest of them next week.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“Oh God, thank you for this great revelation that I am a pillar builder. Fill me with your divine wisdom as I walk softly before you in my home. Help me to build with your wisdom, not the wisdom of this world that is earthly, sensual and devilish. Save me from being tainted by this humanistic wisdom for I want to build godly pillars in my home. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

Colossians 2:6-7, “As ye therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.”

God does not want us to stay down at our lowly level. He wants to bring us up to His life-giving, liberating level. He wants to build us up in Him. He has also shown us how we can be built up.

By Rooting in the Word

Acts 20:32 tell us that His gracious words have the power to build us up. “I commend you to God, and to the Word of His grace that has power to build you up.” (TJB) We can’t grow unless we are strongly rooted in God’s truth.

By Praying in the Holy Ghost

Jude 20, “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost.”
 

I know that you know these principles back to front. But there is no way around it. There is no other way to be built up in Christ, in our faith, and strengthened in our inner man than by immersing ourselves in the Word of God and in prayer.

As we are built up, we are then able to build others up. In fact, God has ordained us to be builders. He wants us to be builders of our homes. In Proverbs 14:1, the Word personally speaks to women when it says, “Every wise woman builds her house, but the foolish pulls it down with her hands.” 

What does God want us to build? He wants us to build our homes and our families. You will notice that it doesn’t say that we are to build our careers. If we are wise women, we will put all our effort into building a godly and stable home. Our greatest vision in life will be to build up our marriage and family. We need to get a building mentality. Every time we open our mouths, we should speak words that build up. Every plan we make for the day should be for the purpose of adding to the building program of our home.

The Hebrew word for ‘build’ in Proverbs 14:1 is the Hebrew word, “banah”. There are three aspects to the full understanding of this word.

1.    To make, to set up surely, to build. When a builder builds a structure, we watch it grow before our eyes. If it is your own house that is being built, you excitedly inspect each new development. Building is hard work, but it is creative and stimulating. Building a family is hard work but we will be blessed with the fruit of our labors. And there is no limit to the creativity. We can fulfill every dream and gifting that God has invested in us in the great vision of building our family.

2.    To repair. This is a very important part of building. All buildings break down and decay. If we do not continually fix and repair, the building will eventually fall down. It is the same with our marriage and family life relationships. We must continually repair with transparency, forgiveness, encouragement and love. The homebuilder knows that “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” (1 Corinthians 8:1)

3.    To obtain children or bring about an increase in offspring. This is an unexpected meaning, but very much part of the word. Read Deuteronomy 25:7-9, Ruth 4:11 and Psalm 127:1 as examples of “banah” being used in this context. Every new child that is received into the family builds the family and makes it grow. The amazing thing is that each new child that comes into the family is not limited to one only. That child will one day have children and his or her children will have children. Each child builds a whole dynasty. In fact, the meaning of the most common Hebrew word for children, “ben”, means “the builder of the family name.” Every new child helps to build and expand the family, not only in this generation but also in generations to come.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“Oh God, you have shown me clearly that you have purposed for me to be a builder. Please give me a building attitude. Help me to daily build my home by my words and my actions. Save me from speaking destructive words. Save me from making decisions that limit or destroy that great building vision you have for our family. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

Psalm 37:23-24, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with his hand.” (Psalm 17:5)

Not only does God lift us up out of our trough of misery, but He holds us up. And He keeps holding us up as we rest in Him. It is so much better to be up than down, and this is where God wants us to be.

I am sure you have noticed that when your baby is very upset that he will not be pacified when you sit and hold him. No. He wants to be lifted up and held. He wants you to hold him while you walk around. Sit down. Oh no! He  cries again.  He wants to be up where you are! He wants to see the world from your point of view. He must feel really out-of-it looking up at us giants. No wonder babies love to be carried in our arms and carried around in baby carriers.

I think it is the same with us. It is easy to grovel when we look at circumstances from our puny point of view. We see the worst. The problems loom large and insurmountable. We can’t see our way out. But God comes. He lifts us up and holds us up. When He holds us, we start to see things from His point of view. We see from an eternal perspective. We receive His wisdom to know what to do. We look down upon our problems instead of being submerged by them.

How does God hold us? He carries us in His strong arms. He holds us with His mighty right arm. When David was being pursued by enemies he confessed to the Lord, “Your right hand has held me up.” (Psalm 18:35) When he was in the wilderness, he cried, “Your right hand upholds me.” (Psalm 63:8)

Now read this wonderful promise in Isaiah 41:10 and 13, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand… For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’”

The word “uphold” in the Hebrew means “to sustain, to maintain, to stay up.” God doesn’t lift us up to drop us. He holds us up to sustain us. He wants to keep us “stayed up.” He does this with His mighty right hand. God’s right hand speaks of His power and His action and His hand doesn’t get tired.  He carries us and holds us up from the womb to the grave. I love the words of Isaiah 46:3-4, “Listen to me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been upheld by me from birth, who have been carried from the womb: even to your old age, I am he, and even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.” (Isaiah 63:9) The Psalmist affirms this too, “By you I have been upheld from my birth.” (Psalm 71:6)

Not only does God uphold us with His right hand, but His eternal Word upholds us. The Psalmist confesses in Psalm 119:116, “Uphold me according to your word, that I may live.” Do you want to be held up daily? Trust in the Lord and read His Word daily. His life-giving words will sustain you. They will hold you up when everything and everyone is trying to pull you down.

The enemy of your soul, the devil, wants you down. He wants to keep you in the pits. Don’t fall for his subtle tactics. Put your hand in the mighty hand of the Lord. Let Him carry you. Feed on His Word and it will hold you up.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“Oh God, I confess that I cannot hold myself up. But I thank you that you have promised to hold me up. I cling to you and to your life-giving words. Thank you, Lord.”

AFFIRMATION:

“A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord,

He taketh my burden away;

He holdeth me up, and I shall not be moved,

He giveth me strength for each day.”

Job 22:29, “When men are cast down then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble.”

Are you feeling on top or down in the pits? Perhaps I can hear you answer,  “Sometimes I’m up and sometimes I’m down! Sometimes I feel great and other times I feel lousy.” 

I have wonderful news for you. When you are cast down, you don’t have to stay down. Even when you are down in the dungeon of despair, you don’t have to stay there! There is lifting up. Did you receive those wonderful words? Embrace them into your mind and your heart. There is lifting up! If you stay in the pit of self-pity or the depths of despair, it is your own choice, for God is waiting to lift you up! This is His name. He is The Lifter Up. Oh what a wonderful and faithful God.

David confesses in Psalm 40:2, “He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out from the bog and the mire, and set my feet on a hard, firm path and steadied me as I walked along.” (TLB) Another time when David was in one of the most terrible times of his whole life -- fleeing for safety from his own son, Absalom, he still confessed, “But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.” (Psalm 3:3) Commenting on this Scripture, Charles Spurgeon writes, “There is a lifting up in honour after shame, in health after sickness, in gladness after sorrow, in restoration after a fall, in victory after a temporary defeat; in all these respects the Lord is the lifter up of our head.”

You may stumble and fall. This is part of life because not one of us is perfect! But the truth that we must live by is that no matter how many times we fall down, God will lift us up again. Not only will he pull you up out of your slimy pit, but also He will lift up your head. He lifts up your head so you can see clearly again. He lifts up your head to focus on Him instead of on your difficulties. He lifts up your head to behold Him so you will not be ashamed. Psalm 34:4 remind us that “They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed.”

Can you make the words, “There is lifting up” part of your vocabulary? Say them continually. When you feel you are sliding into gloom or negativity, confess them out loud! When you feel wounded from hurtful words, confess them out loud! When you think there is no hope, confess them out loud. You’ll stay up before you can go down!

One reminder -- this promise is only for the humble. We can’t pull ourselves up. When we think we can do it in our own strength, we’ll fail, but when we cry out to God in humility, He’ll be waiting. The Amplified Version of Job 22:29 says, “When they make you low, you will say, There is lifting up; and the humble person He lifts up and saves.” The Living Bible says, “If you are attacked and knocked down, you will know that there is someone who will lift you up again. Yes, He will save the humble.”

When we get into a habit of continually speaking these words to ourselves, we’ll then be able to say to them to others too. We’ll say them to our husband. We’ll say them to our children. These are the words of encouragement that should roll off our lips to those who are down. I like the translation of this Scripture by Rev. Thomas Robinson, D.D. “When men are cast down (or, ‘when they shall cast thee down,’ or, ‘when thou art depressed’) then thou shalt say (to thyself, or to others), there is (or, ‘shall be’) lifting up; and he shall save the humble person.”

God wants you to be on the up instead of on the down.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“Oh God, I thank you that you are the Lifter up of my head. I can’t pull myself up. Others can’t lift me out of my dregs. You alone can and I trust you to help me. I will not stay down. I embrace you as my Lifter Up. Thank you, Lord. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

“I want to live above the world,

Though Satan’s darts at me are hurled;

For faith has caught the joyful sound,

The song of saints on higher ground.”