Pillars of God

"He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. And I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name."

Revelation 3:12  


I remember the excitement my wife and I had of building our home. We purchased a lot and met with an architect to draw up the plans and then began the process of hiring the many subcontractors to do the work in building my wife’s dream home. I’ll never forget taking our kids and driving by the house countless times which at the time was nothing more than a vacant lot. We would often get out of the car and walk the property imagining where everything in the house would be. The day the foundation was poured was so exciting as that meant in a few days the walls would begin to go up and the construction could begin. I had not considered the value of the foundation up to that point and how critical it was to the success of our home.

When people drive around neighborhoods to look at new houses they don’t normally do so to see foundations, they want to see building, they want to see the finished product. My wife looked at our foundation and immediately she went into panic as she thought the concrete company made a mistake. She thought the building pad was too small. We actually met the contractor at our house so he could show her that in fact the building pad was exactly to the specifications. We laughed out loud as we realized our house was not that big compared to the other houses on the block. It was a much as we could afford.

As I stood their listening to my wife the Lord reminded me of how important foundations are. For one, the foundation is not seen once the house is built upon it, and yet it the foundation supports the entire weight of the house. Furthermore, you can’t build beyond the foundation. You don’t build out when you build a house, you build up. The Holy Spirit quickened the words of the apostle Paul to my mind from 1 Corinthians 3:9-11, “For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

I learned a valuable lesson that day that I have never forgotten. Jesus is the foundation of our lives, He is the one who bears the weight of the entire universe. Everything that exists does so because of Him. Though you don’t see Him, Jesus is the foundation. Never forget that and please never forget this. Because so many people walk by sight and not by faith they miss this. Every church has people who are pillars, foundational to the church. You might not ever see them physically but they are there. They bend but they don’t break, they remain steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. They are the ones who work behind the scenes holding up the ministries of the church through faithful service, diligent prayer, and faithful support. They don’t want to be seen and aren’t but without them the ministry would crumble to the ground. I am so thankful to God for the men and women He has placed as pillars in my life. Fellow ministers of His grace who serve at Jesus good pleasure for His glory alone.

The Bible tells us in Proverbs 18:24, ‘A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” The word “sticks” is the same word as “cleave” that we find in Genesis chapter 2. God has gifted the church with friends who stick closer than a brother. Friends who when hard seasons of life come, they are still standing with you cleaving to you as it were.  

Pastor Rick Warren posted something this week that caught my attention and I hope it catches yours too. He wrote, “Prominence is not the same thing as significance. Our culture doesn’t understand this. Today, in a world of celebrities and superstars, we assume that the most famous people—or the most visible churches—are the most important. This simply isn’t true. And this attitude hurts far too many ministries. My nose is a highly prominent part of my body. You can’t look at my face without seeing my nose. My nose may be prominent, but it’s not significant. I have other body parts that I couldn’t live without. I could live without a nose, but I couldn’t live without my heart or kidneys or liver.
Don’t worry about whether anyone knows what you’re doing. God knows what you’re doing. Live for him, your audience of one.”

God knows in these last days we need more pillars in the church, those who stand strong in the midst of the battle. Ask God to strengthen your faith today, to make you strong in Him so that the storms of life don't move you, they only prove you. Ask God to give you the heart of a cleaver and not a leaver. Don't be afraid to lose your identity for the kingdoms sake. Remember, the body of Christ is built up when everyone does their fair share. You weren't created for prominence but rather significance. You might be only one person in this world but to one person you might just be the whole world. Your life matters to God so live like it.


"Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually."

1 Corinthians 12:27


I LOVE YOU!