November 26

For no one can lay a foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. — 1 Cor 3:11 BSB

We are often quick to act, eager to fix things ourselves. Like Uzzah, who tried to steady the ark when it seemed about to fall, we rush to help when faith wavers. But this impulse can actually hinder God's work in the soul. If we are truly “living stones” being built upon Christ, the living Head, then each stone must be placed by the Spirit of God. This means that everything of the flesh, of our own strength, must be brought low so that Christ may be all, and only Christ can be formed in our hearts, the hope of glory.

Consider the many trials you have endured—the sharp and painful experiences, the relentless temptations, the crushing doubts and fears, the chains of despair, and the fiery arrows from hell. All these things have come upon you for a purpose: to prevent you from adding even one stone to the spiritual building by your own efforts.

The Apostle tells us that “no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” He also speaks of people building with “gold, silver, and precious stones” or with “wood, hay, and straw,” and that the “wood, hay, and straw” will be consumed by fire. After the Lord has laid the foundation in a believer’s heart, drawing him near to himself, making Christ precious to his soul, and raising hope and love in his heart, the believer often tries to build something on that foundation using materials that God does not recognize—like “wood, hay, and straw.” This fragile structure cannot withstand even a single gust of temptation. One spark of God’s wrath or one glimpse of his majesty will consume it like straw in a furnace.

This is why God’s people must pass through trials, doubts, temptations, and struggles—to prevent them from building something of the flesh on the foundation of grace, from placing “wood, hay, and straw” upon the glorious mystery of an incarnate God.