Ezra 6:14
“And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.”

There are very few self-motivated builders in life. Ezra was one of those men in the Scriptures who was motivated to build something for God. Not only was he motivated, but he did it. In spite of all the hindrances that he faced, he continued building until he finished.

One thing that every city needs is someone who has a heart and the character to build. In a day when mediocrity is considered normal, we need people who have a mindset to build; a mindset to build a church, a bus route, a Sunday school class, or a business. There are several observations that I would like to point out to you about building that will help you to develop into a builder.

First, it is godly to be a builder. Just think about God; He created the world, which is building something. He instituted the family and the home, which is building something. Just keep this in mind when it comes to building; God is a builder, and Satan is a destroyer; which one do you mirror?

Second, you are either building or decaying. There is no middle ground in this area of building. You are either building something, or you are letting what you are supposed to be building to decay. A church that is not growing is dying. A bus route or Sunday school class that is staying the same size is dying. There is life in building and death in staying the same. I would rather be a builder and keep life in the LORD’s work than to be comfortable with mediocrity and let it die.

Third, there will always be a reason that will hinder you from building. You can always give many excuses as to why you are not building, but those excuses are simply contributing to the death of what God wants you to build. You will always be too tired, or you will find it too expensive, or you will have an obstacle that “can’t” be overcome, but you must develop determination and a mindset of building no matter what stands in your way if you are going to be a builder.

Fourth, you will have to stir yourself to keep building. It is not easy to build. Nobody will wake you up in the morning and tell you to go build; you have to stir yourself. You are going to have to develop the character to build and continue to build when the excitement seems to fade. Every day in building is not going to be a mountaintop, but you must stir yourself to build in spite of walking in the doldrums of the valley. Nobody has ever built something great without stirring themselves to build when nobody else around them was building and when they didn’t feel like building.

Fifth, you must continue when you go through the low times. It says about Ezra that he “builded…they prospered…and they builded, and finished.” This is always the process of building. Once you see a little prosperity, you mustn’t become content with the success you have; you must continue to build until you finish what God wants you to build. My friend, your finish line won’t happen until you step onto the shores of Heaven; don’t stop building until you get to the finish line of seeing Jesus.

Author: Allen Domelle