Parallels: Home and Spiritual Renovation—Foundations

(This is part 4 of a series on what I learned through the process of renovating our home, and the parallels to a life yielded to and experiencing God’s work in renovating our life and spirit)

Even as it is known for its beauty and changing seasons, Minnesotans experience cold winters, hot summers, and everything in-between throughout the year!  With the dynamic fluctuations in temperature, the surface ground expands and contracts through the year. Because of this effect, footings for houses need to be positioned deep enough so they will not be affected by the temperature-related movements of the earth. If not, the foundations will be shaken and the building severely compromised.

When I filed for a permit to build a three-season porch, I was told that I would have to dig down 5 feet and create forms to hold cement that would cure and become the solid concrete foundations for the structure. Before we could pour the cement, an inspector had to see, measure, and approve the forms in the ground. I built the concrete forms per the building requirements, and in the picture you can see they are cylindrical tubes with a wider, deep base so the finished foundations won’t move up, down, or sideways through the years. I hired an excavation contractor to dig the holes and help me put the forms in the ground. After a few complications we were finally able to successfully install the forms, which were then inspected and approved by the local building official.

With the help of the excavation contractor, my brother-in-law, son, and son-in-law we were able to mix and pour the footings which were then approved so we could move forward with the building.  Ironically, no one will ever see the buried foundations, but they are essential to the integrity of what will be seen and lived in by people.

There is an obvious spiritual lesson here: We live in a world and times that will heave us up, down and sideways as we travel through life. We might think we’re prepared, but unless our spiritual roots run deep, we will find our spiritual and physical integrity shaken and crumbling beneath us when we experience unexpected events and trials. We need a foundation that runs deeper than life itself.

We need God.

In the 1787 a man wrote a hymn entitled “How Firm a Foundation”, a song about the unshakeable undergirding of God’s presence and Word through life. I love the words of this hymn that have deeply spoken to me in times of testing in my own life. There are 2 voices in this hymn:

First, the narrator who points us to the firmness of God’s foundation through life’s struggles:

 “How firm a foundation, you saints of the Lord,
is laid for your faith in God's excellent Word!
What more can be said than to you God has said,
to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?”

Then God speaks:

"Fear not, I am with you, O be not dismayed,
for I am thy God, and will still give you aid;
I'll strengthen you, help you and cause you to stand,
upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.”

Over two hundred years later, I wrote a simple chorus to accompany this hymn. I did this to add a third voice—my own —in response to the hymn writer and God speaking in this song:

“I will stand upon the Rock of Jesus, call upon His name; I will rest upon my risen Savior, unshakeable He reigns”

Later I recorded this song to help people experience anew the richness of this hymn as well as give them a way to personally declare Jesus as our firm foundation through this life.

Building a spiritual foundation begins by starting and nurturing an experiential relationship with God through Jesus Christ. It is built by spending time with God in prayer, His Word, and with other like-hearted Christ followers. Over time, the “wet cement” of our relationship with God solidifies as He becomes the firm foundation of our life: one that will never fail or leave us.

By the power of God’s Holy Spirit and Word we can build and nurture a foundation that will uphold us through all the seasons of life. God is the unseen Rock who will carry us through all the challenges of life.

God bless you!

Chris Atkins