The House that God Built: How to Build Lasting Faith in a Deconstruction Era
When the 2020 pandemic hit, there also came with it a wave I don’t think the Church was ready for: deconstruction.
As we all experienced a violent shaking up of our jobs, economic security, relationships and mental-emotional stability, many of us found our faith also in shambles.
The God we grew up with, the God we felt connected and devoted to before the chaos ensued was now the God whose goodness, faithfulness and love was in question.
With the political upheavals, horrific injustices and devastating losses, faith, as we knew it, also experienced a funeral of sorts, as it too was swept away with the tides of trial.
Despite those who have bounced back or are still trying to recover from the shakings of 2020, there are many whose trust in God is still buried somewhere beneath the rubble.
It was in the pandemic and thereafter that I’ve sadly watched many professing Christians announce their delving into a process we’ve now defined as deconstruction.
Though I think it good, necessary even, for us to “examine ourselves” and whether we’re truly in the faith as 2 Corinthians 13:5 says, the reality is that the weight of the world that caused the faith of many deconstructers to crumble caused them to put God on trial. And in the end, many ruled him guilty. He is no longer deemed loving, good, trustworthy or present. And neither is his Church.
I believe that the great apostasy we’ve been seeing in the Church isn’t due to God being at fault, but many failing to realize they’ve been building their lives upon faulty foundations.
Rather than standing on Christ’s finished work of the cross and his resurrection, many have been attempting to build their lives vicariously upon the faith of their parents, or the words of their favorite pastor, or their own good deeds, rather than upon the sole sufficiency of Jesus himself.
Tune in to our discussion + prayer session about how to build faith that lasts.
Today’s Meditation
Matthew 7:24-27 & Hosea 2:16-20
When the Holy Spirit led me to Jesus’ words about the 2 house builders and the story of Hosea’s wayward wife, Gomer, I initially couldn’t understand how the two were possibly connected.
It wasn’t long before he began showing me his grief over the crippling blows his Church has taken amidst the chaos of the world, all because she’s devoted herself to other lovers and has built her life upon a faulty foundation.
When life is good or going according to our comfort, we often think our faith is durable.
It’s often not until the flurries of trial, challenge and tragedy hit that we become fully aware of what we’ve been building our lives upon—the “sand” of ourselves and man-made structures, or the “rock” of Jesus and his immovable love.
As you read + meditate on today’s verses I want you to ask yourself:
Is there anything you love more than your obedience to God? (This is not the time to lie to ourselves or answer untruthfully because of shame. Be honest with God & with yourself.)
For each of the following areas, examine your heart + honestly evaluate if you put the whole of your trust in God or in yourself/people/worldly things. (Your identity, your work, your money, your health, your relationships)
Do you cling to God’s word & follow what he says about how you should live in each of the areas mentioned above? Why or why not?
Why do you think trusting God can be challenging compared to trusting in ourselves/people/the world?
How can you be more intentional about daily building your life upon the firm foundation of Jesus?
We build a firm foundation by building up our faith in Christ alone.
We build up our faith by studying God’s word AND by acting upon what we hear! (Romans 10:17)
Jesus said the wise builder isn’t the one who merely hears his words; it’s the one who does them, submitting their emotions and understanding as well as aligning their daily decisions to what he has said.
He also promised that Heaven and earth would pass away, but the only thing that would remain and carry on into eternity is his word.
We only get one life, and the only thing that will outlast our lifetime will be the faith and love we’ve cultivated in connection to Jesus.
And even if we’ve been building on a faulty foundation, God has a thing for restoring and redeeming broken things to make something new and beautiful.
Missed out on a Bible meditation from this fast? Catch up below!
When we empty ourselves upon God, we can be filled to the full with life.