November 25th - Faulty Foundation

     This week I spent some time giving thanks to God for so many things.  I will share some of those on Sunday when I return to a weekly preaching schedule for the first time since late August.  It has been a challenging three months to say the least.  I hope that tomorrow will be a day of rejoicing and thanksgiving.
     Our house is settling.  No joke on this one.  After 20 years the west end of our house is sinking.  We have stairstep cracks in the bricks on the outside and cracks in some places in the drywall on the inside.
     I have had three estimates on shoring up the foundation and will have a fourth estimate this week.  By the end of this coming week I hope to have a contractor scheduled to do the work.
     It will be an extensive job.  It looks like we will need 12 piers.  It will also be an expensive job.
     What would cause a house to begin to settle after 20 years?  Because of the slope of the land there was considerable fill on the back of the house and the west end of the house.  That may have played a part.
     After hearing the opinions of three experts, it appears that the dryness of 2023 might be the major culprit. 
     When I think about foundation issues, I usually think of water related damage.  Overflowing gutters or a poor slope of the landscape to name a couple.
     I didn’t realize that the shrinking of the soil during a dry spell could be such an issue. Apparently it is.
     Our houses are only as strong as the foundations on which our houses are built.  It is an easy application for our lives.
     We sing the words from the old hymn “on Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.”
     Much like our house, I have seen people whose lives were lived on the solid rock of Christ Jesus for maybe 10, 15, or 20 years or longer.  But then I have seen something change.  The foundation of their lives seems to be giving way.  There are cracks in areas that used to be strong and beautiful.
     What might cause a person’s spiritual foundation to weaken?  Maybe the circumstances of life.  Maybe some great trial or trouble.
     Or maybe, just maybe, something that isn’t easily detectable.  It happens so slowly over time.
     Spiritual dryness.
     We get away from the Master.  Other things take His place.  The relationship that we once had that was strong and vital has become weak.
       The fountain of the Spirit that once flowed has dried up. 
     What I know from the estimates on our house is that it is quite costly to restore the foundation.
       Though God’s grace is freely given to us, our relationship with Him always comes at a cost to us.  To follow Jesus means to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him.
     With our house it is more costly to repair the foundation than to build it originally.  Teresa and I know that we have no other choice than to pay the cost to repair the foundation. 
     I think the same is true for some folks spiritually.  The cost to restore the sweetness of the Spirit’s Presence may very well be costly. 
    Returning to the fellowship after being away comes with some embarrassment.   Returning to God comes with the call to be willing to fully submit our lives to Him.
     But like our house, the spiritual repair is worth it.
      Lord, there are arid times in my relationship with You that are a part of living on this side of glory.  The rain of the Spirit isn’t a constant.   But Lord, help me to never let those dry times become the pattern of my life. 
     Send Your rain.  Help me keep my foundation on the Rock.