In the midst of the turmoil that prophet Isaiah experienced and saw as God gave him the opportunity to see into Judah’s future, we find this incredibly encouraging gem of a verse: Isaiah 33:6:

“He [The Lord] will be the sure foundation for your times,

a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge;

the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.”

There’s so much happening around us right now – cost of living crises, our health and social care system at breaking point. On the global stage: there are wars, environmental challenges, persecution of Christians and much more. Sometimes it can feel that the very foundation of our life is being rocked.

A couple of words from this verse that could speak to us: ‘foundation’ and ‘times’.

A foundation, the unseen part of any building, is the first layer of a structure that provides a stable base for the superstructure. A well-laid foundation has strength, durability, longevity and resilience.

Just as every building has a foundation, all eight-billion people on earth are building their lives on a foundation: success, relationships, jobs, self, beauty, intelligence, voluntary work, philanthropy, achievements, ministry, physical prowess, academic qualification, hobbies, etc. While all these are important aspects of our lives, God’s gifts to us to enjoy (1 Timothy 6:17), they were never meant to be the foundation of our lives. They are not resilient enough. At the end of Matthew 7, Jesus distinguished between building a house on the sand and on the Rock. When the rains came, the flood rose and the winds blew, the house on the sand was in great peril. Not so for the house built on the Rock. It stood firm.

Isaiah 28:16 says: “Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, a firm and tested stone. It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever believes need never be shaken.” (NLT)

Other translations say whoever believes will not “waver, falter, be disturbed, panic, be disappointed, worry”. This is a word picture of what God wants for us, His children.

So, what is this foundation? We find in scripture that this foundation is a Person.

“For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” - 1 Corinthians 3:11

“And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself.” - Ephesians 2:20b NLT

The start of a new year is a good time to reassess your foundation. What are you building your life upon? Are you building on the firm, tested, precious, safe-to-build-on foundation, or have any of these good gifts God has given us to enjoy slowly but surely displaced the Rock?

The second word I’d like to highlight is “times.” The Greek language has two different words for time: one is chronos, that quantitative measure of time experienced in the inexorable passing of seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, and the seasons coming and going: spring, summer, autumn and winter.

But there’s also kairos, qualitative time, God-ordained times. One helpful way for us to figure out, with God’s help, what kairos time we might be in, is using these figurative categories others have identified: Wilderness, Waiting, Winning and Warring times.

What is most encouraging is that our Saviour who took on human form and “moved into the neighbourhood” (John 1:14 MSG), had His own seasons of kairos and so is able to identify with us, whichever season we’re in.

Wilderness season

In life’s wilderness season, things can be lonely and dry: the full life that Jesus came to give to us might seem distant and out of reach.

The word wilderness reminds us of Jesus’ experience in the wilderness in Matthew 4. Whilst not the same as the figurative wilderness season, nevertheless, we can learn from it. Just before this, at Jesus’ baptism in Matthew 3:17, the Father affirms His love for the Son; “And a voice from heaven said ‘This is my Son whom I love, with him I am well pleased.’” If you are going through a wilderness experience, follow Jesus’ example by choosing to believe in the Father’s love for you and allowing yourself to be held in and by Him.

Waiting season

The waiting season can feel long, especially when we have no idea when what we are waiting for will manifest – that new relationship, ministry, job, the person you love becoming a follower of Jesus, a prodigal returning home, a promise coming to fruition. The temptation is to take matters into our own hands (Sarah and Abraham come to mind) or to give up. We can learn from our Saviour who also had a waiting season. On more than one occasion, he had to tell people that his time had not yet come (John 2:4, 7:8). For Him, doing the will of God included waiting for God’s timing. His heavenly Father was the sure foundation for His waiting time.

Winning season

In Jesus’ winning time, things were going so well; hordes of people were flocking to Him and many put their trust in Him, becoming His disciples. However, He didn’t let the success of the time get to Him. John 6:15: “Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.” And we know what He does when He goes to a mountain by Himself. He goes to connect with His Heavenly Father in prayer. He didn’t allow Himself or His focus to be swayed in this season. Similarly, we also have seasons where we achieve success, receiving accolades or acclaim from people. Do we follow His example, keeping our focus on the Giver and not the gifts?

Warring season

Warring seasons can be times of opposition: it feels like nearly everything is going wrong, there might be conflict on many fronts. Jesus too went through this season, especially with the Jewish religious leaders. Even though He was doing the will of the Father, they literally hounded him to death. But we see that Jesus did not lose His focus but stayed firmly rooted in His Father’s love.

Whatever season you might be in right now, remember that we have a high priest who understands and sympathises with our weaknesses (Hebrews 4:15). Listen to these words from Scripture reminding us of this wonderful strong, firm, tested foundation upon which we can build in any season of our life:

“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,’ says the Lord, who has compassion on you.” (Isaiah 54:10). He is indeed our sure foundation for such a time as this.

Jesus – The Sure Foundation for Our Times

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