ICS Daily Devotions
Lay the Right Foundation

Luke 6: 48 (NJKV) He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.

Amidst the diverse teachings and theological stands today, we need to be careful regarding the theology and conviction that we hold. Many have walked away from the Lord, whereas others keep up their outward religious practice while inside they are full of bitterness against God. Although some have been offended by God and left the race, we want to be those who can pick ourselves up and continue onto the finishing line. One thing that will help us to prevail in our fight of faith is to know and be deeply convinced that God is always good.

Nahum1:7 (NKJV) The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him.

There is a natural tendency for us to be upset and resentful when something bad happens to us or those we know. We may wonder, “why do bad things happen to good people?” or “why can’t God stop or do something about it?”, but the worst attitude that one can have is to blame or accuse God as evil or as the source of our suffering. Instead, we should have the deep conviction that God is good regardless of our suffering, because this is what will stop us from giving up or being bitter. We should have faith that His eyes are on the righteous and He will deliver us from the adversity though He never promised a quick fix. That’s where resilience and perseverance play a major role in ensuring that we don’t give up. Resilience is built on the foundation that God is good all the time even when we don’t understand it during our pain, grief and suffering.

James 1:16-17 (NKJV) Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

There are Christians who’ve been deceived by the devil into thinking that he and the hierarchy of fallen angels don’t exist, so they are unaware that there is spiritual warfare, they don’t take responsibility for their decisions made in the flesh, they have strayed and are living independently of God. Moreover, they’ve bought into the deception that God is the source of their suffering because He is angry with them and wants to punish and torment them for their sins. However, what they have forgotten is that God has chosen to see us in Christ despite our imperfections and weaknesses, we are in a covenant relationship with Him, and He has chosen to love us unconditionally—that is the foundation of His love, which is built on unconditional love.

Sermon Series: Resilience