Day 18: Foundation
Recently I've been trying to get myself in a healthier state with my insecurities and fears, no matter how big or small, asking the Lord to reveal to me what I am struggling with and asking Him to mend those deep parts I don't even see and give me confidence in Who He has made me. As one small part of this process, I decided to try to slowly work my way off of wearing foundation/face makeup. The skin on my face is something I've always been insecure about, even when the acne has been gone for a while now, I've still felt not so confident in the tone of my skin. So as a way to work through this and gain confidence I decided to stop wearing face makeup except for special occasion. At the beginning of this process I found something interesting... when I took off the coverup of my insecurity, my skin had the opportunity to breathe and become healthy again. Quite similar to what's going on inside of us...
We tend to cover up the insecurities and fears by overcompensating in other areas or avoiding that particular area altogether... but when we do that, when we try to hide these things from ourselves, others, and the Lord, we just pile on more complication and pain. When we let the worries and fears come to the surface, laying them at the feet of the Lord, we allow our minds and souls to breathe again...
When we stop trying to figure everything out on our own and we let the Lord do His work in us, true, lasting healing is produced. Sometimes our foundation in different areas of our lives is set up on shifting sand, leading us to stumble and fall. But when we set the foundation of every area of our lives on Him, everything changes.
I've noticed lately some areas in my life that have been really difficult to deal with, parts of my heart that I've shut off to everyone, including God. Those insecure places that are afraid of getting hurt again and would rather trust myself with these places than expose it and ask for help-- but that only hurts us more. The only one who can heal a soul is the One who created it. So we must-- if we ever wish to be whole again-- we must set our foundation on the Lord.
Setting a new foundation can be difficult and painful. The Lord has to weed out old habits, perspectives, and ways of thinking... but the end result is our strength being in Him, in letting Him overtake the fears and unhealthy ways of living in order for us to live fully alive in Him. Setting a new foundation means taking off the mask, the cover-ups, and acting like we got it all together, and letting our hearts breathe saying, "I don't have to do this all on my own anymore." Because you don't. When you set your foundation on our Almighty God, you are giving Him the reigns to your life, letting Him take care of those hard areas. He's saying, "I got you, child. Yes, that difficult place right there in your heart you try to keep locked away and heal on your own... I got that. Stop trying to do this all on your own."
Set your foundation on the Lord, not yourselves, and watch as healing comes and places that were once broken, insecure, and hidden away become exposed and rebuilt on the firm, everlasting foundation of our Heavenly Father.
“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” Matthew 7:24-27
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CG