Shallow Foundations

I’ve been reading about the latest earthquakes near Indonesia. People are scared. They remember the devastating tsunami of 2004. Indonesia is near several fault lines. Earthquakes and tsunamis are inevitable in this part of the world. Every spring, those living near ‘Tornado Alley’ in the U.S. face a similar scary situation. Families and homes are torn apart by horrific twisters.

“When the earth quakes and its people live in turmoil, I am the one who keeps its foundations firm.” (Psalm 75:3 NLT)

If we build our lives on anything other than God, it is likely to crumble in a crisis. How do we make sure that our footings go deep into the bedrock of Christ?

A friend of mine, who is a home builder, explained how they decide the depth of foundations when building homes. They have to go down deep enough to hit undisturbed soil, also called virgin soil.

Our lives, like soil, consist of many layers. Many people choose to build on their current circumstances. Others reach a bit farther down, to their past experiences. Some dig even deeper and set up foundations on their wounded layers. These unstable layers are prone to shrinking, softening, compacting, and swelling. All this pressure can cause our lives to bow and buckle inward.

We must build our foundations on undisturbed turf. So we have to dig deeper than our current circumstances, our past experiences, and our deep childhood wounds. Once we have reached deep enough to hit undisturbed soil, how do we gird our lives to this level of bedrock?

“I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock.” (Luke 6:48 NLT)

Faith is the anchor bolt that attaches our lives to the foundation. Obedience is the rebar that secures our footings in Christ. Trust is the concrete that holds it all together.