All the restoration work on my home has reminded me of the original construction of the place some 18 years ago. I was able to watch over just about every step of the process. We had lots of skilled workers on every part of the job.

One of the teams that stands out in my mind was the one pouring the foundation. They were amazing. Along with engineers and architects, they did something that gets little attention today but is critical to the integrity of our home. Some would say, “You poured a lot of money into the ground when you built that place.” They are right. It wasn’t cheap or easy. But it was extremely important. Let me explain.

The soil in our part of Texas is known for the way it contracts and expands…and shifts. It is hard to find a house that doesn’t have cracks in the walls…or worse. To counteract that, over 60 holes were drilled 18 to 20 feet deep, filled with reinforcement iron and cement. And the full foundation was poured over those piers. The depth of the holes meant the foundation was sitting on bedrock, not just the shifting soil.

In addition, the lot we were building on slopes downward toward the back of the lot. So, part of the foundation work was the construction of a reinforced retaining wall at the front. It was one foot thick, and it was carefully designed to hold back the dirt and the water that can accumulate against it over the years. Those become subtle forces that push harder and harder, trying to destroy that wall. Careful engineering and strong reinforcement have done their job.

And then the main foundation was poured. Above that foundation, the walls to our home soar almost 30 feet high, with a stone chimney that is probably 45 feet high. Lots of weight on that foundation, for sure.

I think you may already be making a spiritual application to my construction story. Author John Maxwell has a book called The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. In it, Maxwell lists the “Law of Solid Ground.” It’s among the first in his list…and that makes sense. He says that solid ground is trust. A leader, if he or she is to be successful, must have the trust of the people around that leader. Trust is critical. Here is how I see this point as it relates to the foundation of my home.

First, a person who leads effectively must be a person of integrity. What you say is what you do. You keep your word. In other words, you have drilled deep down to bedrock…the truth of God’s Word…and made that the foundation of your life. Not shifting with the times or with the culture of the day. Rock solid in what you build your life upon.

Second, an effective leader builds strong barriers, a reinforced wall, to keep from being pushed this way and that by the pressures of the day. Sometimes those pressures are overt and obvious. Other times they are very subtle. But over time, those subtle pressures build up, and soon the foundation and the entire building can be compromised. That can happen to a leader who does not spend time setting boundaries.

Finally, if a foundation is going to hold, it needs to be reinforced. I watched as the work crew put in hundreds of feet of reinforcing steel…rebar…to hold the foundation together. The successful leader also needs to have his personal and spiritual foundation reinforced. That’s why spending time daily in God’s Word is so critical. It helps keep the foundation of your life solid and together.

Jesus talked about the importance of a solid foundation in His parable of the man who built his house on the sand versus the one who built his home on solid ground. Both were fine as long as the sun was shining, and the storms didn’t come. But when they arrived, the value of a solid foundation became obvious. Then Jesus made the application.

Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.

Matthew 7:24-25 NLT

If you come to my home, you probably won’t notice the foundation. I’ve never had anyone walk in and say, “Wow, what a beautiful foundation!” What you will see is the result of all the effort to build a rock-solid platform upon which to build a home that will stand the test of time.

Is it perfect? No. There are some small cracks here and there. But they can be easily repaired. However, the integrity of the home is not compromised. It is standing the test of time.

What about your life? Your leadership? Your relationships? If you have done your work in building a solid foundation, it is likely these areas will be strong. And you will be an effective leader, proclaiming God’s Truth in a way that allows others to trust…to trust you, and then to trust their lives to Christ. Then, with you as an example, they can start their own foundation work.

God’s best…