When the rug is Pulled Out

Lose your job. Lose your income. Lose your house. Lose the plans you thought were certain. Then ask yourself one brutal question, what is left? That’s when you discover what your life is really built on. The reality is painfully. Your foundation is not what you say you believe. It’s not what you sing in church, what you affirm to yourself or what you pretend it to be. What you actually trust becomes obvious when the props are kicked away.

Many of us build our sense of security on the physical things around us. Our income, our house, our savings, our assets, our routines, our plans and perhaps even our health. These things matter. They are not wrong. We need money to live. We need a roof over our heads. We need stability and structure. But if these things become the foundation of our lives, we may discover how fragile that foundation really is.

I am currently walking through this very lesson. I quit my job, expecting the next step to unfold more quickly than it has. Instead, I have found it harder than expected to land a new position. At the same time, we had to move unexpectedly from our rental accommodation. Suddenly, income was short and living quarters were uncertain. The normal props of life disappeared in a week! It would have been easy to become negative, panicky and overwhelmed. Each day the panic wolves bark at my door and snap at my heels!

In moments like that, the question becomes very real: Where is my firm foundation? What am I building my life on?

If my foundation is my income, then I am only secure while the money keeps flowing. If my foundation is my house, then I am only secure while I have a stable place to live. If my foundation is my career, then I am only secure while the work continues. If my foundation is my own ability to control life, then I am in trouble the moment life refuses to be controlled.

This is why I unashamedly choose to build my life on God and His Word. That does not mean tough times will not come. They do. Faith is not a guarantee of comfort, ease or uninterrupted success. God’s people have always walked through wilderness seasons. They have known uncertainty, loss, waiting, confusion and pain. But the promise of God is not that we will avoid every wilderness. The promise is that He will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). That is not a shallow slogan for days of struggle. It is an anchor for hard days.

The Bible also tells us, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Then comes the promise: “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6–7). I love that phrase: peace that transcends all understanding.

There are times when I have little understanding of why I am where I am. I do not always understand the timing and the delays. I can't always comprehend why one door closes before another opens. But I have seen God working powerfully in the middle of uncertainty. I have seen provision come at the right time. I have seen peace settle over my heart when panic screams to take over. God’s peace does not come from having everything sorted. It comes from knowing the One who holds me when nothing feels secure or permanent.

So let me ask you: In what, or in whom, is your firm foundation? Will it stand the test of a long, drawn-out wilderness journey? Will it hold when income is uncertain, housing is unstable, plans fall apart and the future looks unclear? Will it allow you to sleep peacefully at night without panic and worry?

The physical foundations of life can be shaken. They can shift. They can disappear. But God remains faithful. Build your life on Him. Build your life on His Word. Build your life on the foundation that cannot be taken from you. And if and when the rug is pulled out from underneath your feet, you may discover that you are still standing.

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