Strong Foundation

Last week was a struggle.

The days passed by slowly and it seemed as if everything I put my hand on was either messed up or didn’t go as I had planned. I was happy when 5pm on Friday rolled around because it meant I could go home and hide for 3 days. And hide I have.

This little house God has blessed me with is my sanctuary from the world. It is my quiet place from all the chaos beyond it’s walls. I was able to watch it’s construction from the ground up. It was exciting to visit my lot every night after work and see the progress of it all coming together. One such evening, as I pulled up in front, I saw that the foundation had been poured. The sun was going down but I had just enough daylight left to do what I had been planning. I grabbed a black sharpie from my purse and walked to the concrete slab that would be the strength for the walls to come. I started at one of the corners in the back. I knelt down and began writing scripture on the foundation of my new home. I had planned on only writing on the 4 corners but the more I wrote, the more scripture came to mind and I knew it had to be written.

After I finished writing the scripture, I prayer walked all around the edges then to the middle where the next seasons of my life would happen. At this time, my divorce had only been final for 15 days and I had no idea what the future held for me. I was venturing out on my own…just me and Jesus. But, you know what? Knowing He was my Guide and He promised to never leave me, I had no fear.

I’ve been living in my home for almost 2 years now and every once in awhile, the Spirit reminds me of the scripture written on it’s foundation. My home was built on God’s word.

Just as my life should be.

I am reminded of a parable Jesus taught in Matthew 7.

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

~ Matthew 7:24-27 ESV

There have been times when my faith has faced the rains falling and the floods coming, with fierce winds beating down, as it was this past week. But even in those times, I know Who my Rock is. I know Who I have built my foundation on. I know Who my trust is in. I may have been tossed around a bit but I know the One who upholds me and I will not be down for long nor will I be swept away. I rest in and rely on God’s word to get me through the times when the enemy tries to get me to give up and give in. The fact that the enemy is messing with me in the first place is all the evidence I need to prove that I am on the right path and he doesn’t like it one bit. He knows that I trust Jesus with everything in my life…no matter what it is I’m going through. Jesus is my Strength and the Foundation of my life and anything the enemy can do to shake it, he will.

Just as my home has God’s word written on its foundation, His precious word is written on the foundation of my heart. There have been so many times when I have been in the midst of a struggle or a memory from the past has triggered grief and I will hear the still, small voice of my Savior…whispering His word into my soul. He constantly reminds me that I am His and He is mine. He sees from the beginning to the end. He is in the details. No matter if it’s my checkbook that’s in the red or if I’m just having a sad day…He is there with me, right in the middle of everything I face.

What about you? What is the foundation of your life built on?

Money?

Success?

Your spouse?

Your job?

                                                              Your gift?

I can promise you, all of those things will fail. I have put my faith in every single one of these and every single one, failed me. Every. Single. One. And, yes, I collapsed. Everything I’d ever known was swept away. I wanted to give up. I wanted to run and hide. Jesus knew that I had placed my trust and hope in these perishable things and He knew they’d fail me. He also knew I wanted to give up and run to hide. But it didn’t matter how far I tried to run, I ran into Jesus every single time. That’s how He is. Once you give Him your life, He doesn’t let you go! Oh, how thankful I am for that!

Even the Psalmist knew the only foundation to build our lives on is Jesus!

I know, with everything I am and as sure as I’m sitting here, I would not have made it through the trauma and grief of divorce without Him. He is the only reason I can share my story with you. He is the only reason I have made it this far. And, oh please, don’t get me wrong. I still have rough days and times when I don’t know if I can take another step. Having a relationship with Jesus doesn’t make trauma and grief a pleasant experience. It just makes it a little easier to get through. Knowing He’s always there, orchestrating events in the unknown on my behalf, brings peace to my heart that I cannot explain. Even with tears streaming down my face, not knowing what will happen in the situation I’m dealing with, He’s there. There is a quiet strength that is anchored deep in my heart that is constant. Even when events seem out of control and the enemy is telling me to give up, there is a constant that will not allow me to. That constant strength, is Jesus. He is my Strength when I am weak. He picks me up and carries me when I cannot take another step. His Spirit prays on my behalf when I cannot utter a word. He knows the groaning’s and the cries of my heart much better than I do myself. There are times when I do not even know how to pray. That’s when He intercedes for me.

“Now in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groaning’s too deep for words.”

~ Romans 8:26 NASB

No matter what you are facing right now, in this moment, I can assure you that Jesus wants to be the Constant in your life. He wants to hold you when you’re crying. He wants to comfort you when you’re grieving. He wants to intercede on your behalf when you don’t know how or what to pray. He longs to have a relationship with you.

If you haven’t yet made the commitment to make Jesus the foundation of your life, I encourage you, with all my heart, to do so. If you are unsure on how to do that, go to the Home screen, click on Relationship, and it will guide you, step by step, on how to trust Jesus as your Savior. It is the single most important decision you will ever make in your life.

I am so thankful that I chose to make Jesus my Foundation. He is strong when I am not. He is there when I feel alone.

He will do that for you, too. I can absolutely assure you of that.

Not only will He be your closest Friend and your constant strength; when the rain falls and the floods come; when the wind is blowing fiercely against you.

You will not collapse or be swept away.

He will be your constant and strong foundation.