Foundations

I’ve been discovering that the beliefs I profess and the beliefs that I believe can be in stark opposition. 

I know that God delights in me and in each person - just because we are His creation. I also know that it’s Jesus who has saved me - not my own actions or goodness.

Yet, when situations have arisen where my unspoken beliefs have surfaced, I’ve seen how different and damaging these unspoken beliefs are. A heavy dependence on people’s approval.  Clinging to performance to find self-worth.  Explaining my lack of joy as an unavoidable consequence of situations.

The result? Hopelessness, despair, and increasing self-focus as I continue to rely on these false foundations.  And when the storms came, I watched myself start to implode.  It makes me think of the wise and the foolish builders.

⁴⁶ “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? ⁴⁷ As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. ⁴⁸ They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. ⁴⁹ But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”

Luke 6:46-49

God is kind.  He could have allowed me to keep these false foundations, but instead, He exposed them. And while I do feel I’m slowly and gingerly picking up the pieces, I also see the way to build on a solid foundation.  My beliefs that God gives me worth, that Jesus has redeemed me, that I have been given fullness in Christ are the things I’m clinging to this time - not the accolades of others.

The floods are coming.  But Jesus promised us that when we hear his words and put them into practice, we are wise builders.  Happy building, my sisters!

• Where are some of the places where the beliefs you profess and the beliefs that you believe differ?

• How has God allowed situations to reveal weaknesses in your foundations?  What can you do about it?

Kimberly Bonner
Geneva, Switzerland