“Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;” (Isaiah 28:16)
Foundation is very important for a house. A house built on a strong foundation will withstand the storms, but a house built on a weak foundation will not withstand the storm. What is spiritual life? Spiritual life is building the house of God in our lives. To have the spiritual life that will withstand the storm of life, we must have a sure and strong foundation.
The basic components of a house structure are the foundation, the pillars and the roof. The foundation supports the pillars and the pillars support the roof. So, the foundation actually supports both the pillars and the roof. Therefore, the foundation of a house must be very strong. In building the house of God in our lives, the foundation is our spirit, the pillars are the elements of our soul (mind, emotion, will) and the roof is our body. So, our spirit actually supports both our soul and our body. Therefore, our spirit must be very strong
“If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3)
The strength of a house lies in its foundation because the foundation supports the whole structure of the house. So, if the foundation of a house is broken or destroyed, then there is nothing that will support the pillars nor the roof of the house. The whole house will fall very quickly when it is hit by a storm. Likewise, the strength of the house of God in our lives lies in our spirit because our spirit supports the whole structure of our being. So, if our spirit is broken, there is nothing that will support our soul nor our body. Our whole being as the house of God will fall very quickly when we are hit by the storm of life.
What can make our spirit be broken? King Solomon wrote, “A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.” (Proverbs 15:13) When we are sorrowful in our heart, the sorrow that we feel can break our spirit. In our lives, we will experience sorrow from time to time and it will not break our spirit. However, if the sorrow that we feel in our heart is too long or too much, it will break our spirit. The apostle Paul wrote, “so that, on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow.” (2 Corinthians 2:7)
King Solomon wrote, “A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22) When our spirit is broken because we have too much sorrow in our heart, then our bones will become dry. Bones provide support to the body and help form its shape, but dry bones are brittle. They are easily broken. When our bones are broken, they can no longer cannot support our body. Our body will be fragile and it will be difficult for us to make movement with our body.
When we have sorrow in our heart, we must make sure that the sorrow does not swallow us or last too long so as to keep it from breaking our spirit. If we cannot get out of that sorrow immediately and we feel weak in our bones or body, then our spirit has been broken. In this case, we must come to God right away and continue in prayer until our spirit is restored and strengthened. The Lord Jesus experienced such a great sorrow in His soul in the garden of Getshemane on the night when He was going to be arrested. He said, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death.” (Matthew 26:38) His sorrow was so great that He felt it was going to break His spirit and kill Him. What did the Lord Jesus do? He prayed and prayed until His spirit was strengthened and He was not sorrowful anymore.
The Lord Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) A strong spirit is a restful spirit. When we have a restful spirit, it is like having a deep foundation for a house. A deep foundation will withstand the weight or the pressure that comes upon it. Likewise, a restful spirit will withstand the weight of the sorrow of the heart. It will give us comfort and help us contain the sorrow so that it will not swallow us.
The apostle Paul wrote, “and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7) Our soul is only strong when it is peaceful. Therefore, it is imperative that we have a restful spirit because only a restful spirit can bring peace to the soul. King Solomon wrote, “A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22) Our body is only strong when it is full of energy. Therefore, it is imperative that we have a joyful spirit because only a joyful spirit can produce a lot of energy in the body.