Ready to Assemble

We sat on the floor, surrounded by scattered pieces of the new television stand we’d just bought on sale, feeling proud and excited. It was more than just a piece of furniture, it represented a fresh start, a step forward as we prepared to replace the small, worn-out TV stand that had accompanied us since our early days of marriage. In our new, larger living room, that old piece seemed almost laughable, too small in the space it no longer belonged in. Ceaser, as always, took the lead, and I was his eager assistant in what some might see as daunting. But we were craving distraction, something to pull us from the ache of losing our second baby just two weeks earlier. There’s something about creating with your own hands that brings a sense of peace, even when your heart is far from settled. As we worked, it wasn’t just a stand we were assembling, it was a fragile hope for the future we were trying to build in this new home.

We had spent three years in a snug little two-bedroomed flat, comfortable but small, a temporary stopover as we dreamt of the family we hoped to grow. The new house had three bedrooms, a dining room, and a spacious living area, which we believed would soon echo with the pitter-patter of tiny feet running. But after two back-to-back losses, the emptiness of the house seemed amplified. And yet, as we knelt on the floor with nuts, bolts, and a jumble of instructions spread out around us, we felt the stirring of a new possibility, maybe we could dream again.

I sorted the pieces while Ceaser pored over the manual with that deep concentration that amazes me. If it had been up to me, I probably would’ve started building right away and only glanced at the instructions when something went wrong. But not Ceaser. He thrives on doing things right the first time, with precision and care. Looking back now, I realise it’s the same meticulous approach he’s taken with our family, brick by brick, moment by moment, building something lasting with love and attention to detail.

Halfway through our assembly, the power went out unexpectedly, leaving us in near darkness just as we were getting into the groove. We were two-thirds of the way done and giving up wasn’t an option. As the sun dipped below the horizon, we lit chargeable lamps and turned on our phone torches, their soft glow casting long shadows as we continued our work. Ceaser handled the tricky parts as I held pieces in place or handed him tools. We laughed together, filling the quiet with a light-hearted conversation about everything and nothing. Even the blackout couldn’t stop us. We worked until the last bolt was secured, with no pieces left over, because we had followed those instructions to the letter, a personal victory for me!

When we finally finished, satisfied with our teamwork, we carefully lifted the stand and placed it beneath the television. I grabbed a wooden decor piece that spelt out the word “believe” and set it right on top, where it seemed to belong. The next day, a friend visited to check on us after our loss, bringing with her a card and comforting words that were filled with love. Ceaser smiled as he read her message, then placed the card gently on top of the new stand. It arrived in pieces ready to assemble, took time, effort, partnership and attention to detail, but the result stood as a quiet reminder: God was building something new.

But Noah found favour in the eyes of the Lord. These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. ~ Genesis 6:8-9 (ESV)

You and I are being built, yet it’s not just God building us, He partners with us as He builds. God’s part is to supply the materials and instructions and our part is to follow His lead, obey, and be still in between His directives. As God is building, we often forget that we come into this world being ‘ready to assemble.” Many of us are taking the time to follow God’s instructions step by step because we’re patient like that. Others, like myself, are being rebuilt because we rushed through some steps and realised after getting stuck, that the materials came with some instructions we should have read before we began. Whichever category you fall into, my question for you is this: from this point forward, are you going to wing it at your assembly by taking your chances with impatience and former patterns, or are you going to partner with God and follow His instructions? Before you answer, let me just say that the cost of life repair is high, which is why we ought to think carefully about how we approach this only life we have to live, this side of eternity.

What I’ve found to be true is that God often gives us an image of what He hopes to build with us. Much like an image of the piece of furniture will appear in the instructions of a flat-pack, this image God offers helps us see the possibilities and gives us the motivation to reverse engineer the build with the end in mind. Whenever we feel weary or are tempted to take shortcuts, that picture serves as a motivator for us to resist compromising.

When we look at the life of Noah, we tend to forget that God didn’t just ask him to build something, God asked him to build something that had never been seen before. And that the world did not need before that time. Noah’s attitude inspires me. He didn’t hesitate, question or argue even though God was asking him to build something foreign and, let’s face it, laughable. As we partner with God in the construction of us, we have to make peace with the fact that we’re building something that the world has never seen or had before. You are one of a kind and the instructions that outline the pattern on you are not like that of your parents, siblings, friends or spouse. You have a unique never-been-seen-before design that may sometimes be laughable to you or others.

We don’t have to have our lives all figured out, we were never meant to. Ours is to agree with God that our purpose is worth yielding to His way because He’s already figured it out. It’s the faith we place in God that even when things around us look like they’re not changing or improving, God is at work behind the scenes. The real work is happening on the inside, in that sacred place of meeting with God. It’s there He gives us His instructions and His dreams for us. So, how can we position ourselves to be ready for God to perform His assembly work on and in us? I have four thoughts to share and I’ll start with two this week. I hope they can challenge you and remind you that your walk with God is a light burden for which He takes great pleasure in gracing you.

Expect process.

God’s assembly work on your life is a process. A process He has promised to complete. At the end of His work is when we will see the full version of who He has been assembling you to be… like His Son Jesus. Part of expecting the process is anticipating that part of the assembly progression will mean that you fall out of sync with the world. You may fall out of sync with certain friends, certain entertainment choices, certain patterns and even certain desires that were once important to you. This is a sure sign that the fruit of walking with God is beginning to bud in your life. It’s not an easy part of the process. God understand this and wants to process the changes that are taking place with you. As you begin to take shape, He wants you to share what is happening in your heart and mind. Just because you’ve chosen to walk with Him and do the sometimes difficult thing of following His lead, doesn’t mean He doesn’t appreciate the struggle it might be. Take those thoughts, feelings and struggles to Him. That’s what walking with Him means. The good, bad, ugly and everything in between is lived out together with the Maker of the heavens and the earth. The One who calls you His treasure, child and friend. I don’t know about you but that truth helps me endure any process any day.

Expect a qualification shift.

Being like Noah means positioning ourselves for this assembly work by walking with God. Sometimes we fear that we’ll disqualify ourselves from God’s purpose for our lives because we veered off track or were tempted to take the reins and do things our way. The truth is that nothing can disqualify you from God’s assembly plans and process other than your choice not to walk with Him. Our pasts, qualifications, what we know, who we know or what we have done have no bearing on God’s desire to assemble your life according to the blueprints He had when He formed you in the secret place.

This requires us to have a qualification shift because we’re so programmed by the world’s view of qualification and its rule that one can only do for you when you have done for them. God doesn’t operate that way. His kingdom ways don’t follow the ways of the world we’ve become so accustomed to. I often have to catch myself along my assembly process and adjust how I show up. Sometimes it’s my pride and ego that lead me back to trying to work for a place on the assembly line. Other times it’s a thankful heart that compels me to more doing than just being because I feel I owe the Lord so much. But our qualification will always ever be that we belong to Him and He delights in bringing to pass the very best for our lives. All He wants is for us to want to be with Him, to walk with Him, do life with Him and in the process become more like Him. That’s all He’s ever wanted and that’s all it will ever take.

Let’s commit to the entirety of what walking with God means. Let’s be the ones that actually do the thing of letting Him put all the pieces in place. My prayer is that at the end you can admire His finished work and that there is nothing left on the workstation but you and Him, your surrender and His satisfaction, your purpose and His pleasure, your good and His glory. We don’t have to walk perfectly, we don’t even have to pretend we won’t ever stumble or fall, all we have to do is commit to walking with Him, wherever He goes, forever and a day.