“According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.”
—1 Corinthians 3:10–14

We get to choose.
We get to “take care how [we] build upon it.”

We’ve been given this free gift of a solid, unshakeable, eternal, faithful foundation that can never be moved—and then we get to choose what we do with it.

Whether it’s who we marry, how we educate, how we parent and discipline, how we speak and serve and love, how we spend and earn our incomes—we have agency. And that freedom can feel both liberating and terrifying.

So what will we build?
And how will we build it?

What will my method be?
What materials will I use?
In what manner will I work?
Will I trust Him to provide?
Will I remember to ask Him for His plans?
Will I obey—even when I don’t understand or see a way?
Will I pray expectantly?

Here’s the truth: time and testing will always reveal the answers.

We have this incredible gift—the foundation, the tools, the Spirit. But when we feel stuck, lost, or unsure of our next step, we have to slow down and reflect:

Am I seeking His plans, or creating my own and asking Him to bless them later?
Am I too afraid to choose, believing one misstep will ruin everything?
Did I already ask and obey, but now I’m second-guessing myself?
Am I building for a while, then tearing it all down with my own hands?
Am I staying rooted on the true Foundation, or wandering off to construct on something shakier?
Is what I’m building going to last—or will it burn away?
Does how I spend my time reflect what I say I value?

Trials, loss, spiritual warfare—all of it serves as a refining fire. It burns away the fluff, the distraction, the surface-level striving. What remains is the good, worthy, lasting work—purified and enduring.

This is a good thing.

God doesn’t leave us to figure it out alone. His Word gives us what we need to build a life rooted in Him:

Be humble. (Ephesians 4:2)
Seek His face. (Psalm 27:8)
Work like you’re working for the Lord. (Colossians 3:23)
Don’t bury your talents. (Matthew 25:14–30)
Trust Him. (Proverbs 3:5–6)
Seek the narrow path. (Matthew 7:13–14)
Ask—and you’ll receive. (Matthew 7:7–8)

That last verse? It’s not about material gain, but rather about receiving the real gifts: wisdom, joy, peace, courage, Christian energy, love.

He gave us the foundation—Christ. He gives us the Holy Spirit to guide our work. He’s given us tools, freedom, and grace. And so from that place of security and confidence, we don’t need to spin in fear or decision fatigue. We don’t need to live life as if we’re one wrong step from total disaster.

What do we do?

PRAY.
LISTEN.
TRUST.
GO.

That’s it.
(And yes, it can be that simple—especially when we’re tempted to overcomplicate things out of fear.)

When we’re rooted in Scripture, guided by the Spirit, and truly seeking Him… then any of the paths that remain are good and worthy ones. We can move forward confidently, knowing the foundation is secure, and our Builder is faithful.

We don’t have to fear failure.

We don’t have to guess our way through.

We don’t have to get it perfect.

We get to build something eternal. And we don’t build alone.

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