How Firm the Foundation

“He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.” Luke 6:48

My windows look out on a large construction site. It’s fascinating to watch the progress (or apparent lack of progress) each day. Sometimes earth movers push the soil from one side of the lot to the other—over and over and over. They raise a lot of dust, but it doesn’t look like they are making progress. I commented about this to a neighbor who informed me that the heavy equipment was compacting the soil, compressing it into a solid foundation. “If you don’t do that, you’ll have cracks in the walls in no time, especially when you get heavy rains.”

Our faith needs a firm foundation, too. Learning stories about God’s love as children is a beginning, but without continuing to expand our understanding and praying for enlightenment, it can be easy to lose confidence in the sincerity of God’s caring for us. When we’re flooded with unkind thoughts, encouraged to ridicule the faithful, and exaggerate small differences, the foundation of our trust in God and godliness is eroded. Sometimes it seems like we are covering the same ground over and over, but there is a purpose—to keep the foundation of our faith solid and sound.

Prayer: Lord God, when it seems like we are constantly repeating ourselves without making any progress toward deeper faithfulness, remind us that the foundation of our belief is solid and meant to support the challenges that come next. Amen

Carol McClain