I began my Thanksgiving break by having lunch at one of my favorite restaurants (my meatballs were exceptionally large today…it’s the little things in life) this afternoon. After a much needed lunch date, I headed down town to the courthouse to get a copy of my birth certificate. When I entered the court house, I heard my favorite radio announcer broadcasting the WVU basketball game. And I realized that for the first time in 2 seasons, I could listen to the second half on the radio on my drive home. (Again, it’s the little things in life) After obtaining the seventh copy of my birth certificate; I eagerly got into my car and changed my station from KLOVE to the Mountaineer game just in time to hear Tony Caradi say, “Vanderbilt has cut the WVU lead to just two.” Not the news I wanted to hear! But thankfully soon after that statement I heard him say, “the Mountaineers just went on a 9-0 run”. My Mountaineers barely pulled off a win but, nonetheless, they will be in the championship game on Sunday. With the play-by-play of the game winning shot still in my mind, I turned my radio back to KLOVE hoping to hear one of my favorite songs but instead I heard them asking for prayer for trapped miners. The excitement of a WVU victory faded away and my heart was drawn to the miners trapped inside the mine. Growing up in a mining community, I have friends that work underground and face the dangers of the coal mines every day. I have heard my friends talk about the damp conditions, the long hours, the demanding manual labor, and the unsteady foundation of the underground world. As I prayed for these trapped men, I included all coal miners and added a few extras for the brave men I personally know who were probably underground as I was praying.
I am clearly not a coal miner and it is a good thing because I’m not a fan of intense manual labor and my body would not be happy with a constant sleep schedule change. But I can appreciate and relate to the fact that when they go underground they trust their training as a skilled miner and the foundation of the mine to keep them safe. Thankfully, I don’t have to rely on earthly foundations to keep me safe because the foundation of my life is Jesus Christ. I have rooted myself in Him and allowed Him to be my immovable base. Every day when I wake up, I enter the coal mines of life without ever going underground. Each day, I face dank conditions, long hours, and demanding labor (although not manual if I can help it). Each day the foundation of my life is tested through Satan’s attempts to rattle my infrastructure. And sometimes the trials, relationships, and hardships of life shake my walls but with Christ as my rock solid foundation, I will never crumble and I can never be destroyed. Who or what have you chosen as your foundation? When the floods of life come pouring in, are you grounded in Christ or are you washed away? Do illness, financial difficulties, relationships, careers, and the economical downfall chip away at your foundation leaving you standing on uneven ground as the elements of life slowly destroy you? We can place our trust and hope in anything we want friends. But until we allow Christ to be the foundation of our lives, we will constantly be rebuilding our lives because He is the only one who will never crumble. He is the only one strong enough to withstand the devils schemes; He is the only one who has overcome this world. The only way to stay grounded in Christ is to listen to his words and apply them to ALL areas of your life. We must be Christ followers and use each day as an opportunity to allow God to mold our hearts and transform us more and more into His image. Christ is our rock solid foundation but we are responsible for expanding the size of our building. And I don’t know about you but I’m not satisfied with a short ugly tower. I want the best tower available to me so each day I will add blocks and stones to my tower by following not only God’s word but His plan for my life. I will continue building upon my foundation so everything within my tower reflects Christ.
I loved to stack blocks as a child and I would have competitions with my sisters to see who could build the tallest masterpiece. I always wanted to have the tallest one so I didn’t put much effort or concern into the bottom of my stack of blocks but instead on strategically placing long blocks in the middle for height. Needless to say, I usually got last place because my tower would always fall first. The best part about having Christ as my foundation is: I can place all the blocks I want in the all the wrong places and my tower will still remain. He may chip away at the unnecessary walls I build for myself but He will never destroy the tower I have built in Him. I consider that first place every time friends.
Verse to remember: Luke 6:47-49 47 I will show you what he is like who comes to me and lears my words and puts them into practice. 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it because it was well built. 49 But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without foundation. The moment the torrent struck the house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.
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