I think it was Howard Hendricks who said, “You can’t build a skyscraper on a chicken coup foundation.”
When I went down to the coffee shop this morning for some quiet time of reflection, I took with me a file called “Encouraging Words.” It is a file I put together two years ago when I was going through one of the roughest times of my whole life. There is a document in the file that lists (a) Lies I was hearing in my head and heart; and (b) Answers from the Bible to each of those lies.
Here is one lie, and the answer from the Bible. Lie: “You won’t recover from this.” Answers: “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out … Come to me … and you’ll recover your life … and learn to live freely and lightly.” (Jesus Christ, quoted in Matthew 11:28-30 – MSG) “I’m going to give … a thorough renovation, working true healing inside and out … life whole, brimming with blessings. I’ll restore everything that was lost.” (God, speaking through the prophet Jeremiah – 33:6-7).
Well, I have made a huge recovery, and it’s still is process. A big part of my recovery has been having scriptures on hand to answer the lies that the evil one (‘evil’ is ‘live’ spelled backward) throws at me. Like Jesus in the wilderness, I need some “it is written’s’ to answer Lucifer’s lies.
These scriptures and the ‘God-kind-of-love’ they communicate, have replaced the foundation my life once rested on. That old foundation was ‘production based self-esteem.’ My new foundation is God’s word and God’s love. I’m building a skyscraper on that!