Building with Legos
Legos reign supreme in the realm of building blocks. Life and ministry share a striking resemblance to legos. Both require countless small pieces, meticulously assembled and stacked
I recently heard a speaker say business is like building with Legos. You add a Lego at a time, and eventually, you can make a wall. I loved the idea.
If you’ve ever played with Lego blocks, you know the joy of creating something unique and amazing by snapping those little bricks together. Building a life, a ministry, or a business can also bring the same joy.
Life, ministry, and business are all similar to building with Legos. Each experience, relationship, and opportunity is like a unique Lego combined in different ways to create life. Building a ministry is like assembling Lego blocks. Starting a successful business requires a solid foundation, strategic layering of elements, and adaptability - just like Lego construction. The key is learning from mistakes and combining the “pieces” you have. Both require countless small pieces, meticulously assembled and stacked, before significant progress or achievement becomes apparent.
Let’s focus on one of the greatest needs for ministry leaders, pastors, missionaries, disciplers, and other Christian servants: patience. When I was young, I wanted God just to open the heavens, answer my prayers, and show His power. I would think of all the Bible stories where God did great things. I forgot all the verses that showed a great passage of time.
I want time to fly when I want God to do things or give me things. When life is enjoyable and things are going well, I prefer time not to pass quickly. I want God to answer prayers immediately and send fire from heaven. But then check out these few verses from the book of Judges.
The children of Israel served a wicked king for 18 years
So the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years. Judges 3:14.
The land rested for 80 years, longer than I have been alive.
It appears nothing exciting happened, at least nothing worth writing about.
So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest fourscore years. Judges 3:30.
Oppressors mightily oppressed the children of Israel for twenty years.
And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel. Judges 4:3.
The land is going to rest for another forty years.
So let all thine enemies perish, O Lord: But let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years. Judges 5:31.
and another forty years
Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon. Judges 8:28.
The Book of Judges covers a period of approximately 400 years. Only twelve judges appear in The Book of Judges. The book is 21 chapters long and 618 verses long. This means that each chapter represents nearly 20 years, each verse nearly 12 years, and each judge an average of just over 33 years.
More dead time elapses in judges than in action.
It is the ole hurry-up and wait-for philosophy.
So, your ministry will move slower than you want and then faster than you want. It takes patience and persistence to keep building with Legos when you are the only one who can see what you are building. The same goes for ministry. You must be determined and press forward no matter what happens. You have put your hand to the plow, so don’t look back.
If you have the right foundation, your Legos will stand up and not crash to the ground. The same applies to your ministry. Be sure you have the foundation built. What are your core values, beliefs, and principles? Get them squared away so that you can stand up to the challenges and uncertainty when the wind blows and the storms come. A firm foundation is not just a luxury; it’s a necessity in ministry.
Use everything that comes into your life. Know that nothing is an accident. Every Lego, every little piece, has a place, and God will use it if you can handle what happened and the lesson you were to learn. Even the negative, the horrible, the accusations, the betrayals, the sickness, the death—it doesn’t matter; you can let them build you.