A contribution by Ludwin Funes —
It wasn’t too long ago that I remember being at work piling a few boxes. I remember there came a moment when my pile became unstable and began to lean forward and back, I didn’t know what was scarier, the boxes falling or the look my boss was going to give me for damaging product. I decided to climb high enough to reach the top box and do my best to push downward hard enough to stabilize the tower. To my surprise, I realized my method wasn’t working. I decided to push harder-and-harder and still nothing worked. I climbed down and realized something that made me feel unbelievably foolish, the bottom box had fallen out of proportion to the rest of the pile, which caused everything else to become unstable.
The Holy Spirit took advantage of that moment to speak to me. “It’s sad on how many people think nothing works out for them because they believe they’re not pushing hard enough. When in reality it’s they’re foundation that’s the issue”, He said. Spiritual frustration is a common issue in the church, and sadly many blame it on they’re “insufficient effort.” I’d like to refresh your heart by assuring you that God is aware of your effort. Your urgent feeling of wanting to do more is not God saying “push harder”, but Him saying “check your foundation.” We can’t keep building on an uncentered foundation.
Our foundation needs to be pushed back into proportion
The problem with an uncentered foundation is that the more we push, the more the foundation cracks and could possibly break. Have you ever heard of Christians who say “I just can’t do it anymore”? People who just can’t seem to get it right and quit because of the mass frustration and confusion. A broken foundation is difficult to manage with…
“The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, But who can bear a broken spirit?” Proverbs 18.14 [NIV]
I’d like to ask you, how’s your foundation? How’s your foundation in your family, finances, business, relationships and spiritual life? Do you see a pattern of things not working out? Well, the problem is not bad luck or wrong opportunities, it’s possibly an uncentered foundation. Take a moment to pause, climb down to the deepest part of you and check if the foundation you began to build has moved out of place? Remember when you loved people because Jesus’ love filled you first? And now you try to love people because you want to keep a good streak of good deeds? Let’s have a check, shall we?
“So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” 1 Corinthians 10.12 [NIV]
Let’s not sink into the lie that we need to push harder for things to work out. If we believe we are standing firm let’s make sure it stays that way. Isn’t it funny that all foundations start underground in construction? In the same way, Jesus is our foundation, but many of us have left Him in the ground almost as if he never rose up. Has Jesus remained our cornerstone? There’s only one way to find out. Afterall, it’s a foundation thing.
