Foundations

I had an interesting conversation with a good friend recently. She was telling me about a very tall block of flats they were working on close to where she lives, and how deep the foundations of this building actually were. This got me thinking and I decided to do a bit of research.

The world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, opened in Dubai in January 2010. This building stands at 828 meters high and is twice the height of the renowned Empire State building. It captured several world records, e.g. the tallest man-made structure, the building with the most floors (160+), and fastest elevators (10 metres per second). But although most of the focus is on the height of this lofty structure, the more important fact to consider is what lies beneath this impressive building. The foundation of this building is more than 50 meters deep and it took almost a year just to lay this foundation, using 12 500 cubic meters of concrete weighing about 12 000 tons! The foundation was subjected to rigorous testing, as even the slightest rotation in the foundational structure would be magnified at the top of the structure, with disastrous consequences!

How about us? At times I’ve wondered why God allows us to go through tough trials, pruning us in uncomfortable and painful ways. We may go through seasons of prayer and fasting, of pressing in, and of persevering through difficulties, yet not experience the breakthrough we want. We may spend time with Him, studying His Word and standing on His promises, and doing everything we know to do, yet not see His hand! What could the reason be?

As I was discussing this with my friend over a cup of coffee, I came to realise that God needs us to have a deep and solid foundation, so He can trust us with the weight of His calling on our lives. What seems to be wasted time, painful faith, tests and needless tears, is God laying a strong foundation, preparing us to be useful and effective in our walk with Him.

Take courage, child of God! Don’t let your heart grow despondent at your current situation. Don’t look back and despise the trials that are behind you, or dread what you see ahead of you. Supporting any truly great life is a solid foundation. It’s built on hard work, obedience to God’s Word, faith, perseverance and testing, but even more importantly, it’s built on the ‘Rock’! God loves us more than we can imagine and His plans are to prosper us. He sees the end result, when we only see the messy ‘building rubble’. Let His truth be your foundation and anchor. He’s building your life’s foundation so they can be strong and unmovable.

Prayer: Lord, I’m so grateful that You’re so patiently teaching me to trust You, as You build strong foundations into my life. Help me to trust Your methods, and to rejoice through the times of testing! Amen.