Reason #38
The winds blew over 50 miles per hour today. Not only did the wind blow, but it blew dirt. For a many hours today the sky was brown. I was challenged by a friend to find a reason to smile amidst this undesirable weather. While it was a challenge to do so, the Lord brought a story to mind. Let's take a look at Luke 6:46-49.
“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”
As I thought of Jesus' words, I was challenged to think about my foundation. Foundations are the supporting layer of a structure. As we see in the story above we have two men that chose two different methods for building their homes. I have to wonder why one of them chose not to use a foundation. Was he careless and lazy? Was he taking shortcuts to get his house built quickly? Did he just not have the proper home-building knowledge? Did he feel like his building skills were sufficient enough that he didn't need to pour a foundation for his home? Was he an impatient person and decided that he was satisfied with just having a roof over his head? Maybe this man moved from an area where storms were far and few in between and he didn't expect to face destructive storms in his new location.
I don't know what this man's reason was for not laying a foundation, but if I had to pick one of the reasons to relate to, I would pick the last one. See, I haven't weathered through many storms in my life. Sure the winds have blown here and there, but they weren't destructive. Yes, I've seen a few rain showers but not enough to be concerned. Well, in October, a "torrent" struck my house. My windows shattered, I lost some shingles and there was a lot of water damage. I didn't think I would make it through the storm. I figured my walls would give out before the storm was over, and I would be lucky if any of my house was left standing.
The storm has started to subside. I can safely say that my house didn't collapse and face complete destruction like man #2 in the story above. You see, 17 years ago, I began to build a foundation. Some years my foundation was deeper than others and some years I was able to build quicker than others, but every year I tried my best to build my foundation on the Rock. There have been times where I was lazy in my foundation building. There were times that I tried to take short cuts. There were times that I grew impatient and just tried to throw up four walls so I could be done. Psalm 127:1 says, "Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain." Well, my builder has come to survey the damage and to start rebuilding. New windows and a new roof are in store for my house. He will have to do some gutting on the inside as well, but the foundation is solid. How grateful I am that I have an immovable foundation to support me. These four walls are fragile, but I know that because they are built on the Rock, they will be able to withstand any storm.
"On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand..."
#38 - Because he is my foundation.
"He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved." - Psalm 104:5
“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”
As I thought of Jesus' words, I was challenged to think about my foundation. Foundations are the supporting layer of a structure. As we see in the story above we have two men that chose two different methods for building their homes. I have to wonder why one of them chose not to use a foundation. Was he careless and lazy? Was he taking shortcuts to get his house built quickly? Did he just not have the proper home-building knowledge? Did he feel like his building skills were sufficient enough that he didn't need to pour a foundation for his home? Was he an impatient person and decided that he was satisfied with just having a roof over his head? Maybe this man moved from an area where storms were far and few in between and he didn't expect to face destructive storms in his new location.
I don't know what this man's reason was for not laying a foundation, but if I had to pick one of the reasons to relate to, I would pick the last one. See, I haven't weathered through many storms in my life. Sure the winds have blown here and there, but they weren't destructive. Yes, I've seen a few rain showers but not enough to be concerned. Well, in October, a "torrent" struck my house. My windows shattered, I lost some shingles and there was a lot of water damage. I didn't think I would make it through the storm. I figured my walls would give out before the storm was over, and I would be lucky if any of my house was left standing.
The storm has started to subside. I can safely say that my house didn't collapse and face complete destruction like man #2 in the story above. You see, 17 years ago, I began to build a foundation. Some years my foundation was deeper than others and some years I was able to build quicker than others, but every year I tried my best to build my foundation on the Rock. There have been times where I was lazy in my foundation building. There were times that I tried to take short cuts. There were times that I grew impatient and just tried to throw up four walls so I could be done. Psalm 127:1 says, "Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain." Well, my builder has come to survey the damage and to start rebuilding. New windows and a new roof are in store for my house. He will have to do some gutting on the inside as well, but the foundation is solid. How grateful I am that I have an immovable foundation to support me. These four walls are fragile, but I know that because they are built on the Rock, they will be able to withstand any storm.
"On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand..."
#38 - Because he is my foundation.
"He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved." - Psalm 104:5