“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!” – Jesus in Matthew 7:24-27
The rains came hard in our area of Tennessee this weekend. I was at the river for sunrise on Saturday morning. The water was low. The flowers were blooming. Bird singing. It was a beautiful morning.
Late yesterday before sunset I returned to that same spot. Everywhere I had been was covered in rushing water. Just like that.
I remember working my first “flood” as a Paramedic. It all happened so fast! We had to rescue many people from their homes and stranded vehicles. As is often the case with flooding, some people lost their lives.
Life can be like the rains that come so quickly and, in some cases, with great destruction. Whatever foundation we have when “life happens” is what we have to stand on as we navigate through it. If we are standing on shifting sand…well, you get the picture and it’s not pretty. The good news is, we don’t have to stay on the sand.
When Jesus said these words about the foundation we build for our lives, he was teaching some very practical things that help develop that foundation. When it feels like we are standing on sand instead of rock, there is something we can do. Jesus offers us a lot of practical instructions and counseling. He mentors us along with very different ways of doing life. When we follow his teachings, our feet slowly begin to find the foundation underneath us getting stronger and stronger. Our faith begins to grow. Our trust in God’s grace and love is strengthened. We experience the gift of mercy. And when the rains come, as they will, we find ourselves standing on solid ground.
Wonder what to do to start building a more solid foundation for your life? Read the 7th chapter of Matthew to discover a few actions that Jesus encourages to do. He even invites us to ask for what we need: https://bit.ly/3mo7AnI
Prayer
Lord, we need more lives built on rock for this time in history. Please help us see our way to following your teaching that leads us to abundant life. We need you. We love you and we trust you completely.
David Wesley’s Virtual Choir#6
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkIr6eHjqXI
Life in the Deep End 