My Foundation

Reading: Judges 8:28-35

My grandmother was a wonderful woman of faith. She left a legacy of spiritual maturity and trust in the Father that seems to have permeated everyone she touched. So much of my spiritual walk was colored by her hand on my life and that is still true today but here’s the thing… It's my walk. So many people seem to live their lives in relation to God through others and that is not a relationship at all. Eventually, when you are left to stand upon your own spiritual foundation you may find that there isn’t much holding you up. 

With Gideon’s death, we see the structural integrity of the people’s spiritual foundation on full display and the view isn’t good. They immediately went back to Baal worship and forgot God completely as well as everything Gideon had done for them while under God’s authority. This tells me two things. 

Firstly, the people clearly had their behavior in place for Gideon’s benefit not because they were concerned about the Father’s requirements. This is still a prime character flaw among humans. I teach teenagers, believe me! The way a kid will act in front of their peers or teachers is a far cry from how they would behave if their momma was sitting in the room but adults do the same. Have you ever worked with someone only to see them at church and think they’ve had a complete personality transplant? Maybe you’ve been there yourself. I know I’ve had times where my words and attitude would have been much more subdued and compassionate if my pastor was standing there and that is shameful. Why am I more concerned with my pastor’s opinion than holy God? 

Secondly, the fact that they went back to idolatry immediately tells me that they had never truly given it up. They may have gotten rid of the physical evidence but they still harbored it in their hearts. No one goes to bed in a completely committed, healthy, God-honoring marriage and walks into the office the next day looking for an affair. No, we take those steps gradually until the change seems almost intangible. It may have seemed immediate to those watching the Israelites but I bet they weren’t as shocked by the change in themselves. 

So, here’s the reality for the people in Gideon’s day and ours... Your faith has to be your faith. Your walk is your walk. You can’t rely on your grandmother’s testimony. Your father’s thirty years as a deacon. Your mother’s prayer life or your uncle’s cousin’s sister’s time on the mission field. Where is your foundation of faith and when those pillars of spiritual legacies in your life are gone, will your foundation still stand? Can you be a pillar for someone else while helping them lay down their own foundation? 

Today’s Prayer

Thank you, Father, for all those you have put in my life to pour into me spiritually. Thank you more still for the foundation of faith and trust that you continue to grow in me. Help me to lead others, just as I have been led, to the true foundation, You.