Foundation

FILM

My freshman year of college, I was playing tackle football with a group of friends. I was playing quarterback and we planned a designed QB run play. I sprinted down the right middle field and the defender came up to tackle me. I lowered my shoulder into him, and as he fell over he grabbed onto my leg, like any good defender would. As he did so, everyone (including myself) heard three loud pops. Clutching the grass agonizing in pain, I knew something happened. After a little while, I composed myself and the guys helped me up. I noticed my leg didn't feel right. As I held my leg off the ground, it just wobbled in the air like a punching bag (don't worry, I was really smart back then *sarcasm* and kept playing as the QB and safety. I just hopped on one leg). Turns out I tore my ACL, MCL, lateral meniscus, and fractured my Tibia (good thing I kept playing right?). The Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) is a very important ligament required in the stabilization of your knee joint. With much rehab and training, a non-professional or non-collegiate athlete can maintain an active life style without their ACL. However, the importance of the ACL in competitive sports cannot be denied. It is critical for the integrity, strength, stabilization, and foundation of the knee joint.

PRACTICE

You see, in sports, having a strong foundation in your body is vital-and having all of your ligaments is important too! You don't hear of elite athletes like Le'Veon Bell, Bryce Harper, Lebron James, Patrick Kane, or any other athlete you can think of playing their sport without an ACL, or without a strong enough lower body to compete in their game. If you take away the power in Lebron's legs, you take away Lebron's game. If you remove the speed from Le'Veon Bell's legs, Le'Veon Bell would not be the running-back he is. Without strong legs, without a firm foundation under you, you wobble. You stumble. You feel weak. Have you ever worked out your legs so hard that you can barely walk straight? That feeling that if anyone or anything caused you to get slightly off balance your legs would fold like a wet paper towel? Well, that shows the importance of strong legs, a strong foundation. Now, lets say an athlete tears their ACL, gets reconstruction surgery, then tries to play the next game. Is that going to work in their favor? NO! It's going to be disastrous. They need to go to physical therapy, train, and build up their their foundation again to make them able to take the impact and wear that an athlete goes through. As an athlete, you are expected to prepare your body to be able to handle the unexpected changing circumstances of your environment. If your legs aren't strong enough to make that cut, go for that jump, or push a little farther....then you won't make it as an elite level athlete. What training are you doing to strengthen your legs? What steps are you taking to make sure your foundation is firm, not to be altered by your opponent?

GAME

On Saturday night, my wife was out, the kids were in bed, and the house was quiet. So, I thought "I'm going to have some quiet time." I reached for one of my Bibles that was located on the far left side of the book shelf, about three or four books away from the end. As I pulled the bible out of it's spot, all of the books to the right of it fell over like dominoes. My "...oops" turned into a "...hm" as I thought of the truth behind the scenario that had just played out. Just as the bible on the book shelf was holding all of the other books up, the Word of God is designed to be our foundation. When we remove it from our life, when we remove it from our world....things seem to fall apart. Now,they may not literally being falling apart. But, without the daily Word and Truth being spoken into us through the bible, our view or our perception of our circumstances may be distorted by the worlds ideas. Looking at Matthew 7:24-27 or Luke 6:47-49 we are told by Jesus about the importance of having a firm foundation through the parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders.

“24Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (Matthew 7:24-27 ESV).

The Word of God needs to be our foundation. It needs to be the truth that we seek, and the wisdom that we crave. But we cannot just read our bible just to read it. We need to put into action what called has called us to. We need to strive (through many fall-backs and short comings) to act on his word and to seek Holiness. If we read our bibles, go to church, go to youth group...but do nothing with what we are being taught; what makes us any different than the athlete who tore their ACL, had surgery, and played the next game? Nothing. Like an athlete that needs to go to physical therapy after surgery, so do we need to go into spiritual therapy everyday with the Word of God. Build your foundation on Christ, and seek to pursue Holiness.

COOL DOWN

When the ground beneath my feet gives way
And I hear the sound of crashing waves
All my world is washing out to sea

I'm hidden safe in the God who never moves
Holding fast to the promise of the truth
That You are holding tighter still to me

The Rock won't move and His word is strong
The Rock won't move and His love can't be undone
The Rock won't move and His word is strong
The Rock won't move and His love can't be undone
The Rock of our Salvation...

"The Rock Won't Move" by Vertical Church Band
https://play.spotify.com/track/6W5Yl1Q7OT5EjTLXNTv6ij