Pat spoke this morning at Cherry Tree Court on the subject of foundations. God has good plans for our lives (Jer 29:11) and can satisfy us fully, but we need to understand that His thoughts and ways are not the same as ours (Is 55:1, 8) and that we need to build on the foundation of Jesus Christ. In the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5-7), He gave His disciples foundational teaching which would become essential for His church.
The building work that has been going on at Pat’s new home has been a living parable, reminding us that we need to dig deep with foundations before we can build up. When digging the foundations of the new extension, builders cleared a lot of soil from the garden, but also a lot of clay. God has to remove things in our lives in order to build deeper foundations and has to peel away different layers in our lives so that He can pour in new things. The wise man built his house on the rock, not on sand, and we have to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us about things in our lives which need to change and do the things He tells us to do. The Lord’s Prayer (Matt 6:9-15) becomes foundational to our transformation, as we learn to celebrate God, bring our needs to God, allow His forgiveness to flow into us and out to others and receive His help to overcome temptation.
Sometimes, God says ‘no’ to our plans in order to enable His bigger plan to be built in our lives. Whatever season we are going through, God does not make mistakes and longs for us to be rooted and established in Him.