We are living in unprecedented times and one of the pressing questions I am asking is, “What is God doing in this disaster?”

As I have asked God that question directly, the passage of Scripture that came to my heart is Luke 6:43-49…

“You’ll never find choice fruit hanging on a bad, unhealthy tree. And rotten fruit doesn’t hang on a good, healthy tree. Every tree will be revealed by the quality of fruit that it produces. Figs or grapes will never be picked off thorn trees. People are known in this same way. Out of the virtue stored in their hearts, good and upright people will produce good fruit. But out of the evil hidden in their hearts, evil ones will produce what is evil. For the overflow of what has been stored in your heart will be seen by your fruit and will be heard in your words. “What good does it do for you to say I am your Lord and Master if what I teach you is not put into practice? Let me describe the one who truly follows me and does what I say. He is like a man who chooses the right place to build a house and then lays a deep and secure foundation. When the storms and floods rage against that house, it continues to stand strong and unshaken through the tempest, for it has been wisely built on the right foundation. But the one who has heard my teaching and does not obey it is like a man who builds a house without laying any foundation whatsoever. When the storms and floods rage against that house, it will immediately collapse and become a total loss. Which of these two builders will you be?”

Luke 6:43-49 The Passion Translation

This time in quarantine, prayer and presence have revealed to me one glaring reality: I’ve let things of this world have my faith to a certain degree. When I allow things of this world have my faith, the fruit of my life suffers. Just like Jesus touched on in Luke 6:43, “You’ll never find choice fruit hanging on a bad, unhealthy tree. And rotten fruit doesn’t hang on a good, healthy tree. Every tree will be revealed by the quality of fruit that it produces. Figs or grapes will never be picked off thorn trees. People are known in this same way.” People are known in this same way. Whoa. This is what happens when I move my faith from Jesus to things of this world. I spend my time and energy looking for figs on a thorn tree.

Jesus then takes the metaphor to another level. He tells a story of a man who builds his house on the right foundation. Storms and floods come, and the house stands strong, unshaken. However, the man who builds his house without laying a foundation only finds total loss. When I hold myself up to this metaphor, I often find myself straddling the line between foundation and no foundation. How is that possible?

Scroll back up and take a look at the picture that accompanies this post. At times in my life, I’ve built parts of my house on the foundation of Jesus but left other parts without a foundation…or rooms if you will. There are rooms in my life I’ve not built by His plans, His specifications. Here’s the hard truth of relating to Jesus and Holy Spirit in that fragmented way: When storms come and they will, our house is only as strong as the foundation in the weakest room.

If I am acting out of fear during this season of uncertainty, when we are hunkered down with the storm raging on outside and I am worried about whether my house will stand, it may be because my house suffers from an uneven foundation.

We have to be willing to give Him access to the entire house of our lives. We have to be ok with him tearing down what is there in order to replace it with something that lasts.

Jesus ends the passage by asking this question: “Which of these two builders will you be?” You see, Jesus always lets us do the building. He lets us choose how we want to build our life. He wants to be the architect and the engineer. He knows best what kind of house we need and how it should be constructed in order to withstand the storms and floods of life. So that takes us back to Jesus’ question in verse 49: Which of these two builders will you be?

I believe in this season, God is asking us to allow Him to do an inspection of how our lives are built. Where have we allowed things of this world to have our faith? Every earthly construct has shown its shortcomings. Governments can’t provide answers. Medical systems have come up short. The economy can’t provide the foundation we need. Only the Master Architect and Engineer of the system knows what we need. I’m leaning into His presence – Asking Him to search me and reveal the fatal flaws in the foundation. That truth only comes with time with Him. Looks like we have some time on our hands. Will you join me?