It Begins With The Foundation
I felt the Lord say to start over, dust the dirt off, get back up and begin again. And so here we are..
I recently read this book a dear friend of mine lended me sharing insights, knowledge and studies about Texas soil and how to grow organically with the hard soil we have here. I wrote down the very things it said I would need to grab from our local nursery.
LavaSand, Earthworm Castings, and Organic Compost.
These three were vitally important to help our organic garden grow and our dirt to soften up.
Before I tilled the dirt again, I felt the Lord ministering to me, but not through the items I was getting for our garden, no, but through the old dirt.
Our garden plants can only grow so deep if they haven’t been planted in a good solid foundation. They can only grow so much, or not at all, if the foundation isn’t correct. If the soil is soft like sand, they will grow quickly and die quickly. If the soil is too hard and compact, they will struggle trying to grow and breakthrough the dirt. But if the soil is right down the middle of a little bit rocky and sandy, they will flourish and grow bountifully and abundantly.
As the Lord ministered, things began to unfold. This resonates so much with our spiritual lives. If our foundation is laid upon the earthly treasures, money, success, careers, materialistic things, etc, we quickly lose sight of our true foundation, Christ!
All these things here on earth won’t go with us when we die.
Ouch! I know that hurt. But its true sis!
All these things we work for, strive for, build success in, get in debt for, they stay only to have our families struggle trying to paying it all off or finding a way to get rid of it all. Now don’t get me wrong sweet sister, it is okay to enjoy these things while we are here. But to chase after these things… no sis, this isn’t how Christ intended for us to live. And he surely didn’t leave that example for us to follow.
In Luke 18:22-23, Jesus spoke to the Rich Ruler saying, When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.
There’s a lot to be said in these passages, but what I want to share with you here is that this man, the rich ruler, cared about his riches. He let wealth get a hold of him and grip him. He held it tightly and instead should of held the wealth loosely and held tightly to the Lord.
But oh does it happen here with us too. We hold tightly to earthly possessions when we should be holding tightly to Jesus and wanting to become more like Him. Dying to ourselves to grow and be molded like him.
In a self driven culture, where you must have it all, the newer, fancier, better, bigger, never content with what we’ve been given kind of things, be the woman who stays on her steady foundation, Christ. Never losing sight or placing hope and trust on worldly things. Then, only then, will others want what you have. The very foundation you have. Sister, this is what we want others to have. Salvation in Jesus Christ. Experiencing Him and knowing Him, His oh so sweet presence and life He gives.
The way to becoming a deeply rooted woman of God who has her foundation on christ is by dying to her wants, needs and self to Christ. Living her best life with Christ and for Christ. Holding tightly to the Lord and letting loose of the things here in this world.
Challenging Questions:
- Do you find yourself holding tightly to the things in this world? Or loosely?
- How does your spiritual foundation look like? Rocky? Sandy? Muddy? Dry? Drought Dry? Just right? Be honest sis. This is how we grow. Correction leads to growth.
- Imagine everything you own now being taken from you, how then would your attitude be? Truly be? Would you pout and scream and cry and be mad at the world and God?
Remember, these things are temporary, these are not our foundational things, Jesus is. He is our foundation, our source of life. He is our rock, the very one who holds us when storms rage and gives us peace when things go haywire. - What can you do today to loosen the grip? Sit with the Father and ask Him to walk you through this process and show you how it looks. He will surely reveal it.
Verses to Ponder on:
- Luke 18:22-23 “When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.“
- 1 Corinthians 3:11 “For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, Christ Jesus.”
What a tough subject this is sweet sister! But there is hope, light, goodness, there is something so profound in this subject that we sometimes miss because it hurts too much to listen to. Let’s not miss this. Setting Jesus as our foundation is simple. Salvation is first, then you rely on Him and walk in obedience for the rest of your life. Walking with him, running when he runs, sitting when it’s sitting time, dying to yourself daily and living for christ.
If you missed last week’s message, visit it here! We will continue our series, “Lessons in the Garden” next Thursday.