You Need a Firm Foundation
By Rick Warren
“The mountains may move, and the hills may shake, but my kindness will never depart from you. My promise of peace will never change . . . I will rebuild your city with precious stones. I will reset your foundations with sapphires. I will rebuild your towers with rubies.” Isaiah 54:10-12 (GW)
There is only one place in the Bible where the word “reset” is used. It’s found in Isaiah 54. The nation of Israel had lost a war to Babylon, where they were taken as captives and would remain for 70 years.
The Israelites were pretty discouraged—not just because they had lost but because their Holy City, Jerusalem, had been destroyed.
In the midst of all this, God did not want them to forget that he was still with them. He loved them, and he was going to rebuild—or reset—their lives.
God says in Isaiah 54:10-12, “The mountains may move, and the hills may shake, but my kindness will never depart from you. My promise of peace will never change . . . I will rebuild your city with precious stones. I will reset your foundations with sapphires. I will rebuild your towers with rubies” (GW).
God was going to rebuild their city and their whole lives. But the foundation wouldn’t be made of clay or rock or cement. God said he would build Israel’s foundation with sapphires and rubies.
Why would God build a foundation with precious jewels? Because every other kind of foundation can rot or decay—but sapphires and rubies last forever. That's why they're so expensive!
God would build Israel’s foundation with the most precious things on Earth. That is how much he loved and cared for his people.
When Job was going through hard times, his friend said to him, "Put your heart right, Job. Reach out to God. Put away evil and wrong from your home. Then face the world again, firm and courageous. Then all your troubles will fade from your memory, like floods that are past and remembered no more. Your life will be brighter than sunshine at noon, and life’s darkest hours will shine like the dawn. You will live secure and full of hope" (Job 11:13-18 GNT).
If you need to make a big change in your life, then you’re going to need a strong foundation. And you’re only going to find that foundation in God, who loves and cares for you.
Get rid of the sin and junk in your life that keeps you from focusing on God. Then you can live full of hope, moving forward with courage and shining brighter than the sun.
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This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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