David declared in Psalms 11:3, “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”
Isaiah gives an answer: “And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in.” (Isa 58:12)
I first saw these two Scriptures put together in such a way through some pictures from the Answers In Genesis ministry. I was so impacted, they made it into my book, The Playbook.
I realized that our church had been called to rebuild foundations…to recover and restore critical truths…to actually attack the spiritual “black gates” that keep so many families and communities bound!
But there is a problem. This sort of work is HARD. It’s unglamorous. In fact, if one isn’t really paying attention, one could almost think nothing is happening!
Such is the process of building or repairing foundations.
It’s like watching a house being built. My wife and I had such an experience over 20 years ago. First, there was the joy of the purchase. “We just bought a house!” But since our home was new construction, all we initially saw was a grass lot and dirt!
So week after week after the purchase, we’d drive from our apartment in Hampton to Chesapeake to look at that lot. "Still dirt! C'mon!!" And then one day, we saw that DIRT HAD BEEN MOVED! The joy we had! LOL! So we anxiously came back the next week…and footings had been dug! Party time!!!! And then...time.........stood.............still. Week after week after week we thought, “Is this all they have done? Where is our house?”
Thankfully, bricks eventually showed up…then the foundation SLOWLY was completed. Then more waiting and visits. For what seemed like FOREVER, it continued to look like NOTHING much was happening.
Then one Saturday, on yet another visit to our newly purchased home….BOOM! Walls! Then the next week: Doors and windows! Then a roof! Then the next week: Siding!
Before you know it we could walk inside and imagine raising our family. What joy that was!
But hear me…foundation work is SLOW. And if you think about it, it needs to be. On it the whole house rests...
"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it." (Matthew 7:24-27)
To all who are laboring to preach the Gospel, rebuild family, restore fathers, and make disciples…things that truly change communities (not just for awhile, but generationally), BE ENCOURAGED.
God is working. You just may not see it yet!
