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Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.
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Several years ago I lost just about everything in my life that mattered to me. I went through a six month stretch where I would think I hit rock bottom, but then the bottom would fall out again. No matter what I tried, no matter what I did, I couldn’t stop the free fall. When there was nothing left, I cried out to God one night and said, “Lord, I give up! I can’t do this anymore.” Laying there on that floor, i heard God’s still, small voice whisper back, “Finally.” For Years I had been fighting what God wanted to do in my life and had been living life for myself instead of for Him. I had built the life I wanted on top of the foundation He had laid.
That night, in my mind, i saw a picture of myself curled up in the fetal position on a foundation. There was debris all around me and it was pouring down rain. I didn’t have the strength or the will to get up. I believe God was showing me my life at that moment. Everything I had built had been stripped away. When I said, “God, I’ve been left with nothing,” He relied, “You still have your foundation. If you’ll let me, I’ll build on it the life I want you to have.” I prayed, “Lord, do with my life what you want. I don’t ever want to go through that again.”
In Psalm 16:5, David prayed a similar prayer that resonates with me. He said, “You, Lord, are all I have, and you give me all I need; my future is in your hands” (GNT). You and I can spend a lifetime trying to plan our future and build the life we want, but we will never be satisfied until we give our future to God. He has a master plan for each of our lives and desires that we give Him the reigns of our future. It’s up to us to surrender our will to His. I can tell you from personal experience that the life He wants for you is far greater than anything you can imagine or build yourself.
Photo by AbsolutVision on Unsplash
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When I look back on the time in my life where I hit rock bottom and lost just about everything, I see a picture of me laying down in the rain. There is wood and other things thrown about the yard from what used to be the life I had built. As I was talking to God about it one day, I was lamenting on how I had lost everything. That’s when God pointed out what I was laying on. It was the foundation of my life. Everything else may have been stripped away, but I could always rebuild on a firm foundation, especially one that had weathered the storm.
Every one of us build our life out of things and on a foundation. Every one of us will face storms in life. What we’ve built our life out of and on will determine how well we weather those storms. Jesus told us to be wise by building our lives on the rock so that we would have a good foundation for those times. That rock He told us to build on was the truth of God’s Word. All of Heaven and earth will pass away, but His Word will remain. Be wise and build your life on what will last.
Here are some verses on having a good foundation.
1. “If you work the words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who dug deep and laid the foundation of his house on bedrock. When the river burst its banks and crashed against the house, nothing could shake it; it was built to last. But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a dumb carpenter who built a house but skipped the foundation. When the swollen river came crashing in, it collapsed like a house of cards. It was a total loss.”
Luke 6:48-49 MSG
2. In that day he will be your sure foundation, providing a rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the Lord will be your treasure.
Isaiah 33:6 NLT
3. Through [skillful and godly] wisdom a house [a life, a home, a family] is built, And by understanding it is established [on a sound and good foundation].
PROVERBS 24:3 AMP
4. But the solid foundation that God has laid cannot be shaken; and on it are written these words: “The Lord knows those who are his” and “Those who say that they belong to the Lord must turn away from wrongdoing.”
2 Timothy 2:19 GNT
5. When the storms of life come, the wicked are whirled away, but the godly have a lasting foundation.
Proverbs 10:25 NLT
Photo by Magnus Lindvall on Unsplash
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When my wife left me for someone else, my business collapsed and I had to file for bankruptcy I struggled emotionally. I was hurt and depressed. People would say to me, “Time heals all wounds.” That isn’t what I wanted to hear because at that point, time felt like my enemy. I couldn’t see 5 or 10 years down the road yo when time would heal my wounds. I was fighting just to make it through a day or a night. Each day seemed to bring more bad news and things were compounding. Time seemed to be against me more than it did to offer healing.
I retreated to a routine to help me cope. I pulled back from people so I couldn’t get hurt. I did everything I could think of to keep my mind busy so it wouldn’t plot my demise or someone else’s. I didn’t want to be alone, but I also didn’t want to have to interact with people. I carried such a heavy weight on my shoulders that I became emotionally, physically and spiritually tired. I got to the point where I just collapsed on the floor and wept. I told God that I couldn’t do it anymore.
At my breaking point, I found mercy and grace. I found that it’s ok to be weak. It’s ok to be broken. It’s ok to hurt. In those feelings were reminders that I was human. I realized that I had done everything in my life in my own strength and in my own power for my own glory. When the flood came in, it washed everything out. I had become the foolish builder that Jesus talked about in Matthew 7:24-27. I had built my life on a foundation of sand and when the storms came, it collapsed like a house of cards.
Looking back, the good news is that it gave me the opportunity to rebuild the way God wanted me to build. I learned to give my pain and problems over to Him. I learned to build a life on a foundation I could count on. I began to spend time looking up God’s promises. I found out what it meant to really trust Him. I began to pick up my life piece by piece. I left behind the pieces that weren’t beneficial to my spiritual health. I quit going to places that hurt more than helped. I stopped hanging out with friends who held me back and found new ones who would lift me up.
Time didn’t heal all my wounds, but it afforded me the ability to rebuild the right way. I’ve still had rain, floods and tornados in my life since that time, but my life hasn’t crumbled like it did before. God’s word has secured me through them. I’ve had to make repairs, but I haven’t had to rebuild because a life that is built on trust in God’s Word will stand through storms. I’m not saying I’m perfect or that life is awesome all the time. I’m saying that I know who to run to in a storm. I know how to board up the windows when a hurricane is coming. I know God personally and have a deeper understanding of His Word because of what I went through.
If you haven’t been hit by a devastating storm yet, there’s still time to check your foundations. There’s still time to get rid of the things that aren’t from God. If you’re in the storm or have been hit, don’t let the enemy tell you it’s over. God is still there willing to share your burdens and will help you rebuild from the ground up. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it. I can tell you that with God’s help, you will survive and you will rebuild. Choose the foundation of God’s Word to build your new life on. Before long, time will no longer be your enemy and your life will be put back together the way God wants it.
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I was nominated by Lilkaraphael @ bisforblessed.com
I was nominated for this award by Mike Stephens at mikeforchrist.com
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 