A firm foundation is the key to a strong house. The same is true for life in general. Without a firm foundation, your life is likely to crumble or come crashing down altogether.
The fable of The Three Little Pigs puts this concept in a from that even a child can understand. Don’t build your house out of the weak stuff like straw and sticks. Use bricks so the Big Bad Wolf can’t blow it down with his insanely strong lungs. Long before the story of the pigs and wolf, Jesus told a similar story:
“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 22:24-27 (ESV)
Lately I have run into some opposition in my life. It seemed like every door that I hoped would be open for me was closed and locked down. I began to wonder if I was on the right track at all. Furthermore, the things that I thought I had under control were falling apart behind me. As I tried to push doors open to no avail, I started to realize that there must be something deeper.
I am not in a position to say that I am right and everyone else is wrong, but I am in a position where I can look at my own life. Everything looks ok on the surface, but what is really going on at my core? Is my foundation as firm as I try to make people think?
When my wife and I were looking at houses, we came across one online that seemed really cool. It was big, had some interesting features, and it was in our price range. It may have been further away than we really wanted, but it was worth a trip to look at because of the price.
When we got to the house to take a look around, it was obvious that something was off about the house. We walked around inside and noticed that a lot of the floors seemed to be crooked. At that point, the holes in the yard started to make sense. The house was sinking. I’m not a geologist by any means, but I am pretty sure there was some mine subsidence or something like that going on.
We didn’t buy the house, but I will never forget the feeling I had walking through that house. It was like we were in an old V8 commercial. I share that story with you because I think it relates well to life. If your foundation is not firm, things in your life are going to be a little crooked. You might even get to the point where a door that should be open for you is stuck shut because the house is not straight enough for it to open.
As I saw opportunities fade back into my dreams, I decided to check the integrity of my foundation. I want to be firmly planted on The Word of God first, so I have started working through the entire Bible again. I’ve failed at this many times before, but that doesn’t mean I should stop trying. Jesus said himself that Scripture is the basis for life.
But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”
Matthew 4:4 (ESV)
I was reminded of that verse as I was reading through Deuteronomy yesterday.
And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.
Deuteronomy 8:3 (ESV)
I’m sure I’ll find cracks and other problem areas as I continue to check my foundation, but I will continue to dig into The Word of God so my foundation can be made strong on Christ, The Solid Rock.