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.
Matthew 7:24-25But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the river struck that house, it collapsed instantly and was destroyed.
Luke 6:49Let me ask you something
What do you actually believe? Not what you were told to believe. Not what you have always said you believe. Not what you wish you believed. What do you actually, truly, in your core, believe?
If you are in the middle of deconstruction, you might not know the answer to that question anymore. And that is okay. That is actually the point. Because you cannot rebuild until you know what was built on sand and what was built on rock.
Today, we are going to talk about foundations. What happens when the beliefs you built your life on start to crack. And what might be left when the rubble clears.
What You Believed Before
Before this started, you probably had a set of beliefs. Maybe you never thought about them much. They were just there. The background of your life. The air you breathed. They felt solid because everyone around you believed them too. They felt safe because they were familiar.
Maybe you believed that the Bible was literally true, every word, no errors. Maybe you believed that God had a specific plan for your life and if you followed enough rules, He would reveal it. Maybe you believed that prayer always worked, that good people went to heaven, that bad people went to hell, that Jesus was coming back soon.
Maybe you believed that being a Christian made you better than other people. Or that church was the only place to find truth. Or that faith was supposed to feel certain all the time.
None of these beliefs are necessarily wrong. But they are all beliefs that can crack. And when they crack, the whole structure starts to shake.
When the Cracks Appear
The cracks start in different places for different people. For some, it is a theological issue. The Bible says X but science says Y, and they cannot reconcile the two. For others, it is an ethical issue. The church says X but their conscience says Y, and they cannot silence the voice in their head. For others, it is an experiential issue. They prayed and nothing happened. They trusted and got burned. They followed the rules and their life still fell apart.
The crack spreads. One belief that cracks puts pressure on the beliefs around it. If God is not good, how can He be sovereign? If the Bible is not true, how can Jesus be the way? If prayer does not work, why bother? The whole structure starts to sway.
And then one day, you are standing in the rubble. Looking at the wreckage. Wondering what happened. Wondering if anything can be saved.
Standing in the rubble is one of the hardest places to be. Everything you believed feels like it has been taken from you. The identity you built feels false. The future you imagined feels gone. And you are left with questions that have no easy answers.
What Is Actually Happening
Here is what I want to tell you. What is happening to you is not a breakdown. It is a breakthrough. It is painful, and scary, and disorienting, but it is also an invitation.
You are being invited to figure out what you actually believe. Not what you were told. Not what you inherited. Not what you assumed. What you actually, truly, in the deepest part of you, believe.
That is a hard invitation. It would be easier to just believe what you were told and move on. But something in you cannot do that anymore. Something in you needs to know what is real. And that is not a weakness. That is a gift.
The beliefs that survive this process will be stronger than the ones you started with. Not because they are more protected, but because they are chosen. They are yours. You have tested them in the fire and found that they can withstand the heat.
Think about it this way. Before, your faith was like a house you inherited. Someone else built it. Someone else chose the materials. Someone else laid the foundation. You just moved in and lived there. It was fine. It was comfortable. But you never had to really trust it because you never had to face the storm.
Now, after deconstruction, you have the opportunity to rebuild. And this time, it is your house. You choose the foundation. You choose the materials. You choose what stays and what goes. And when the next storm comes, you will know exactly what you built on.
The Invitation
So here is the invitation. Do not try to rebuild immediately. Do not try to find the answers right away. Do not let anyone pressure you into believing again before you are ready.
Instead, do something harder. Stay in the mess. Ask the questions. Let the beliefs fall. See what remains. The rubble is terrifying, but it is also revealing. It shows you what you really built on. It shows you what cannot be shaken.
Some beliefs will fall. Some beliefs were built on sand. And that is okay. It is better to know now than to live in a house with a cracked foundation.
Some beliefs will remain. Some beliefs were built on rock. And when you find those, they will be yours in a way they never were before. Chosen, not inherited. Tested, not assumed. Real, not borrowed.
Tomorrow, we are going to talk about something that makes this even harder. The church. How the people of God became the source of the wound. It is a hard conversation, but it is one that needs to be had.
Identify the First Crack
What belief was the first to crack for you? Was it something about the Bible? About God? About the church? About yourself? Take a moment to identify the first crack. Sometimes understanding where it started helps you see the pattern.
- What belief was the first to crack for me?
- What other beliefs were dependent on that one?
- What beliefs do I think might survive this process?
- What would it look like to rebuild on a different foundation?
- Am I trying to rebuild too quickly?
- What would it look like to stay in the rubble longer?
- What beliefs have I been assuming that I have never actually examined?
Stay in the rubble. Do not let anyone rush you out of it. The beliefs that survive will be stronger because they are chosen, not inherited.
Father, I am standing in the rubble of my faith and I do not know what to do. Some beliefs I held for years are now gone. I am grieving what I thought I believed and I am scared to examine the rest.
Give me courage to stay in this question. Do not let me rebuild too quickly on a foundation I have not tested. Help me to find what is true, not just what is comfortable.
Give me patience to wait for answers that may not come for a long time. Remind me that this process, though painful, is also a gift. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Stay in the rubble. Do not let anyone rush you out of it. The beliefs that survive will be stronger because they are chosen, not inherited.
With honesty and hope,
Claire