The tower stood tall, having occupied me, a teenage helper, and several nursery kiddos for most of our time together.

All it took was one wide-eyed, deviously grinning four-year-old. He slipped through our grasp, and, with one swift kick, it all came tumbling down.

Months. It took months to build those set pieces. Weeks and weeks with entire evenings dedicated to planning, painting, and assembling before the big performances. Most of us in the cast and crew were over the moon with excitement and a sense of accomplishment.

Then came “strike.” That’s what demolition day was called in my theatre group.

In a matter of hours, all that work was undone.

Prayer and Google lined the road God paved. With limited time, we’d carefully and nervously pieced together our plans. It was only months before that someone else’s plans determined our original expectations wouldn’t come to fruition.

So, we were trying again. The job was accepted. Paperwork signed. Moving truck loaded and driven 1000+ miles. I had the signed lease in my hand.

She had a different, unsigned lease in hers, and a manipulative smile as she demanded more money than we could pay. Homeless in a new state, all our plans were in shambles. Again.

The speaker’s topic at the college event was friendship. She told her listeners about the friendships she’d had over the years. Many were rich, warm, and personal. But in time, some ended. Friends she’d spent her days with, even lived with, were now a part of the past.

As a student just beginning to think about graduation and next steps, I hadn’t thought about that. Many friendships are for seasons. Today, I only keep in touch with a handful of the multitude of friends I talked to all the time back then.

Realizing how easily and quickly friendships grow apart after so long growing together seemed earth-shattering at the time.

Tedious stacks, love-labored projects, prayed-over plans, pined-over friendships. Things we build into are dismantled more easily than we think.

Fragility in this world can make us feel unstable. Change can feel like sinking sand. But there is joy, hope, and confidence for those whose foundation is Christ.
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• Christ Himself is the chief cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20)
• When He is our foundation, we build on solid rock (Matthew 7:24)
• God is our rock, refuge, and fortress; He will not be moved (Psalm 62:6)
• The believer’s foundation in Christ is firm (2 Timothy 2:19)
• Even if struck down, believers are not destroyed (2 Corinthians 4:9)

There is no dismantling salvation. No one can shatter grace. No force or blow or wandering can separate Christ from those who belong to Him.

So, though our work caves, though plans sway, though friendships fade, though expectations give away, we know that our foundation is sure.

Because Christ is building us, we can keep building with confidence.
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{A version of this post was previously published here.}

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The post A Sure Foundation {Recharge Wednesday} appeared first on Soaring With Him Ministries.

You remember the monumental moments of your faith.

When you take the first step of faith and your foundation is laid in Christ, it’s memorable.  Days, months, even years later when crucial decisions arise and you find that you indeed want to live with Him as your cornerstone, it’s big.

There are moments of obvious growth and transformation as piece by piece you’re built, a temple to glorify God.

The moment when you gave up on a certain sin and it stuck. That time when the Lord provided something extraordinarily spectacular.

But in the building of your faith to His glory, there is more than just the big, memorable, and obvious. There are also the nuts, bolts, screws, and drops of glue.

Little victories -these are what hold all of the major framework in place. @BethanyMcIlrath
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Little victories are as simple as:

• An unspoken prayer answered
• A silly picker-upper in your day
• A call at just the right time
• A gentle kick in the pants when you need it
• A reminder that you get to choose your attitude
• A verse that stays in mind
• An extra three minutes with nothing to do but get quiet with the Lord
• A song on the radio speaking to your heart
• A gift you needed but never asked for
• A smile and a hug, just warm and full of love
• A step out of bed when you feel you can’t get up
• A sunrise you wouldn’t want to miss when you didn’t want to wake
• A moment of clarity in a pattern of mess
• A laugh by yourself that just has to be loud
• A sense that you are not alone, even when you kind of are
• A little conviction from the Lord, coupled with grace
• A broken bad habit, maintained
• A Friday waking up to realize that you’ve formed a good habit in just a few days
• A glimpse into what may be coming, filling you with hope

Simple. So simple are these. But they are the thousands of “littles” that make for big faith. Remember the verse?

If you are faithful in the little things, you will be faithful in large ones. (Luke 16:10)

Even a house with big beams and solid boards breaks and creaks if little screws haven’t secured the planks. @BethanyMcIlrath #RechargeWednesdayLinkup
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Look on your little victories as faith builders, not “almosts” or “steps.” They have a purpose too. Tack them in. Drill them in place. Hammer away with gratitude, with recognition, and praise. Those little victories are built to last.

When your house of faith rocks and shakes…

When you climb its steps and enjoy the view…

When another large addition is in progress…

When the Lord wants to show off His handiwork…

You’ll be glad for every short moment you spent ensuring that you saw the victory, the gift, and put it to work in your faith.

(A version of this post was originally published here.)

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LINKUP is open! @BethanyMcIlrath shares an encouraging word about how the seemingly small victories in our journey with Jesus are crucial to sustaining our faith... Join us & share your blog!
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The post The Nuts and Bolts of Faith {Recharge Wednesday LINKUP} appeared first on Soaring With Him Ministries.