Hailey Van Lith is one of the best college basketball players in the country. She helped lead the University of Louisville to the Final Four as a sophomore, and she has already won a couple of gold medals playing for the United States in the FIBA World Cup and in the FIBA 3x3 World Cup.
What I love most about Hailey is that she has a solid foundation built on hard work and toughness.
When Hailey was in high school, she would train with her dad every day after practice for 1.5 - 2 hours. She said that her dad raised her in a culture of ‘always working,’ and she doesn’t really know anything else. Hailey also said she can see the difference between her competitors who have worked hard over the years, and the competitors who relied on talent and athleticism.
At some point, your talent and athleticism won’t be enough to outweigh hard work and grit.
Our foundation is important because as author James Clear says, “You don’t rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” Your goals are what you WANT to do. Your systems are what you do every day. Every thought and action that you have is a vote for the type of person you choose to be.
As followers of Jesus, we can choose to have Him as our foundation. Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus says:
“Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
In sports, a solid foundation is one built on hard work, a growth mindset, grit, and enjoying the journey. In life, a solid foundation is one built on and around Jesus Christ. He was sent to us, by God, to do the will of God, to save sinners, and to bring light to the world by being made to be like people and face the same temptations and adversity that we face, but by overcoming them. Our job is to learn more about Him and obey His message. If we do, we are building a solid foundation that can overcome the troubles and struggles of life.
A simple process to follow in building a foundation on solid rock includes:
1 - Have a Healthy Fear of God
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). Real knowledge, wisdom, and understanding start with God, who He is, what He is like, why He created the world, and how He deals with sin. God created the world out of love, and the world turned away from Him. But God was so committed to the world and loves the world so much that He sacrificed His only son to the cross for it. You can know everything the world has to offer, but none of it matters if you don’t know God and His word because He is the source of life, and He is the light of the world.
2 - Take Captive Every Thought and Make It Obedient to God (2 Corinthians 10:3-6)
Think about what you are thinking about. Your thoughts control your attitude and directly affects your life and how you feel. Guard your heart, guard your mind, guard your thoughts. Thoughts impact your attitude, and your attitude determines your altitude. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). Analyze your thoughts and make sure they align with one of those fruits!
3 - Be a Light and Go And Make Disciples of All (Matthew 28)
Go and make disciples of all the nations by being a good person and by helping and blessing others. Help others learn about Jesus, believe in Jesus, and obey His words. Teach them to observe everything that He has taught (Matthew 28:19-20). Let your light shine in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:16). And remember that people will follow you because of who you are, what you do, and how you make people feel - not by what you say.
4 - Read Your Bible. Everyday
The story of God is the story of the world. Read the entire Bible, and read some of it every day. Read it over and over again. This is where knowledge begins. This is where you learn how to have a healthy fear of God, how to align your thoughts to His words, and how to be a light and make disciples. This is where you learn about Jesus, and where you learn how to be more like Jesus. This is where you learn from the mistakes, successes, and lessons of the people in the Bible. Life was created by God so that we may know the source of life so that we can make Him known, and so that we can enjoy Him, forever. Reading the Bible, every day, is how we get to know him better.
5 - Pray Without Ceasing
According to the National Science Foundation, the average person thinks 12,000 to 60,000 thoughts in one day, 85% of those thoughts are negative, and 95% of those thoughts are the same repetitive thoughts from the previous day (source). Instead of allowing negative thoughts to flow freely through you, fill your thoughts with words from the Bible.
THIS WEEK
1 - Write down the answer to these two questions: “Who do you want to be, and what are three things that you need as a solid foundation?” My goal is to write a book, and one thing that I need to do as a foundation is writing every day. The other thing I need to do as a foundation is read every day.
2 - What is one thing that holds you back from doing what you need to do to build a strong foundation? Social media is a distraction that keeps me from reading and writing more.
3 - What is something you can do to overcome those barriers? I plan on monitoring my social media use. I won’t use it within 15 minutes of waking up and going to sleep.
4 - What is a Bible verse or story you can lean on to help you overcome those barriers? I will lean on John 16:33: “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.””
I pray that this week we are able to identify who we are, who we want to be, and some foundational things that we can do to help us become who we want to become. I pray that we identify barriers to success, and I pray that we find ways to overcome those barriers. I pray for these things in Jesus’s name, amen.
For a Google doc version of this, click here: What is Your Foundation
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