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DEALING WITH FAULTY FOUNDATIONS
If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? Psalm 11:3; Other Bible reference: Genesis 32: 24-31; The most important part of any building is its foundation.
No matter how beautiful and magnificent a building is, if it’s standing on a faulty foundation, destruction of that building is imminent. If the foundation was not properly laid, the structure that was once considered glorious would in no too distant time crumble like a pack of cards. To attest to the importance of foundations, our Lord Jesus Christ also in one of His parables of the kingdom, revealed that there is great wisdom in taking the pain to lay a firm foundation before setting out to build. If the foundation of the life of a man is faulty, it is unlikely that he would live a fulfilled life let alone finding and fulfilling the purpose of God.
Going through the account of the life of Jacob for example, we discover that his life was built on very faulty and shaky foundations. He started out as a trickster. He was a supplanter, a manipulator, a grabber and a cheat! He got the blessings of the first born by fraud, his mother - Rebecca also being an accomplice. His beginning was not straight;He did not lay the foundation of his life on righteousness but plenty of lies. Although he succeeded in getting the blessing of Abraham placed on him before the death of Isaac his father, this covenant blessing however was not operative nor effective on Jacob’s life. The reason is obvious: God will never bless what He did not start! This was the reason Jacob went through hell in the house of Laban where he was tricked to serve rigorously for fourteen [14] years as dowry! His twenty-one [21] years sojourn in the house of Laban were full of woes and regrets. His life was further made crooked when he ended up marrying four wives [two daughters of the same father together with their maids] a life that was never lived by Isaac his father!
Jacob struggled for over twenty [20] years trying to patch it up and get along, but the more he struggled, the more he failed. Something was fundamentally wrong; his foundation was faulty. Until Jacob finally gave up to God at Bethel, he did not have a breakthrough. It was at Bethel Jacob finally allowed God to deal with his shaky foundations. In that fateful night of destiny determination, Jacob initially thought that his ability to struggle and manipulate would help him, so he struggled with the angel as his usual manner and nature. But after so much struggling, the Angel of the Lord touched the hollow of his thigh bone, this resulted in serious dislocation which made Jacob to limp and depend on staff as walking aid for the rest of his life! What was touched that night by the Angel of the Lord was beyond physical limb bones of Jacob; that nature of manipulation, supplanting, lying, grab it all, tricking and deceit that was in him was broken. The Angel touched what was considered great strength of Jacob and weakened him so that he may learn that ‘God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness’ and that ‘By strength shall no man prevail’. That night marked the beginning of a new life for Jacob who had lived a very crooked life.
God visited the faulty foundation of Jacob's life and gave him a new beginning. This was attested to by the fact that God gave him a NEW NAME. Of course, you would agree with me that it is when a baby is born anew that you christen him. By giving a new name to Jacob, God seemed to be laying entirely new foundation for his life. God gave him a fresh start, a new beginning, a new life. His name was called Israel – Prince of God. From that day, the life of Jacob never remained the same again since he allowed God to destroy the faulty foundation of his life and lay a firm foundation of righteousness for him. His way of life and character from that day changed. True change starts from within and flows outwards not the other way round.
Just like physical buildings, the totality of our lives and destinies is being built day by day by our actions and inactions. Wisdom requires therefore that we pay great attention to the foundations upon which we build our lives and destinies. A lot of believers are going through very difficult moments and needless pain all because they have built their lives on faulty foundations. So many marriages are hitting the rock because they were not established on sure foundation. Many destinies are being destroyed because believers are not willing to take the pains of laying firm foundations. A lot of believers just want to have the desires of their hearts by all means – including ungodly and crooked means. How many believers have joined the world in falsifying traveling documents just to travel or work abroad? How many denominations and ministries are have started out on foundations of lies, deceits, love of money and fame, rather than genuine love for God and His kingdom? How many business ventures involving believers are built on fraudulent foundations? Or is not God part of our business ventures? How many courtships and relationships are built on questionable foundations? Sanctity of the married life is no longer popular even among believers. What a tragedy!
Brethren, be ye not deceived, anything that is established on foundation of unrighteousness will never have the backing of the Almighty God. God is eternally righteous and will not be part of messy deals, it does not matter who is involved. Remember, He did not hide the atrocities of David when he slept with Bathsheba the wife of Uriah and eventually murdered him. The only way we can live to be what God destined us to be is to allow Him into the foundations of our lives, even if it means we would be broken into pieces in the process. God broke the thigh bones of Jacob and made him limp but sustained him for the rest of his life! If we allow God to break us, He will also remold us according to His divine purpose and program. The time to relay the faulty foundations of our lives is NOW! God can give us a fresh start if we wouldn’t say ‘I have gone too far to back out’. God is ever willing to give us another chance if we would turn to Him in genuine repentance and allow Him into every nook and cranny of our lives. Your destiny and eternity outweighs all the gains and riches of this earth put together! So why wouldn’t you allow Him to deal with the faulty foundations of your life? Allow God today and never stand in His ways. Shalom.
Ezekiel Olukolajo
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