firm foundation
As a little kid, I loved to build sandcastles at the beach. I’d try to create little villages. However 9 times out of 10, my sandcastles would collapse quickly after I made them. Now there’s definitely a technique for making sandcastles, but the reality is that sand will not make a firm foundation. If a wave makes its way to the sandcastle, down it goes. If it gets too windy, down it goes. If a storm comes, the sandcastle doesn’t stand a chance. So why do we attempt to build the foundation of our life on the sand?
I’ve been reading Proverbs. It’s a book of wisdom. It focuses on practical wisdom for life. I’ve quickly learned the importance of wisdom in life. I think we hear the phrase “build your life on a firm foundation” a lot. While it makes sense and is not an overly complicated phrase to understand, I constantly wondered what it really means to build your life on a firm foundation.
Well, wisdom. Wisdom is how you build your life on a firm foundation. I’m not even halfway through Proverbs and I’ve already received so much wisdom from the words written in these chapters. Proverbs compares living a righteous life full of wisdom to life without wisdom. Or a life relying on man’s wisdom instead of God’s. Wisdom takes knowledge and makes it accessible for the future.
The beginning and essence of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. Fearing the Lord means a continual submission to God in humility and faith. This is how we are called to live. Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom.
Without God’s wisdom, we don't possess the viewpoint of how God designed for us to live. We were provided with every bit of wisdom we could ever need to know right at our fingertips, the bible. Wisdom protects us from evil ways. From sinning. However, wisdom doesn’t benefit us if it is never received AND treasured. Meaning we have to cultivate a receptive heart that does not forget God’s word. Sin is deceitful. It looks enticing and promising, and it may be for a moment. But it doesn’t breathe life into you, it does the opposite actually. The wisdom of life breathes life into you.
Sin can be deceitful. Disguising itself as good only to lead you to a path of death and destruction. You end up with a house built on sand. So when a wave comes, when the wind comes, when a storm comes, your house doesn’t stand a chance. Wisdom will lead you to a path of life and blessing. A house of wisdom is large and unshakeable. When hard times come because you’ve built your life on a firm foundation, you can weather the storm and reap the blessings on the other side of it.
I don’t know about you, but I want my life to be built on a firm foundation. I want to cultivate a heart that loves wisdom. I want to be a fountain of life for others to see God’s greatness. A friend who brings life to their friends. A daughter and a sister who brings life to her family. One day, a wife who brings life to her home. And a friend who exemplifies the glory of God to strangers. So what is the foundation of your life built on?
“In the path of righteousness is life and in its pathway, there is no death.” Proverbs 12:28
