MOVING FROM SAND TO ROCK
Susan Murray
Today’s Scripture: “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” Matthew 7:24, NIV
Theme: Building our lives on God’s Word and instruction--following-through not only with wise beliefs but wise actions--will result in a rock-solid faith and a flourishing life now and forever.
FOUNDATIONS
To build a house first requires digging down, finding solid ground, and pouring a concrete foundation so the building will remain standing. Doing otherwise will result in collapse like a sandcastle at the beach when the tide comes in. Interestingly, foundations are below the surface and are not seen. Yet what happens to the seen structure above tells the story of the unseen foundation below. You may not know your house is built on a poor sand foundation until a rainstorm comes.
SPIRITUAL FOUNDATIONS
The same is true when it comes to the life we build here and now. We need a solid foundation to have a stable, blessed, and satisfying life. Jesus says that when you follow His words, meaning all the words He spoke in His Sermon on the Mount, you will be wise – you will have a life built on a firm foundation. He said be humble, love your enemy, be generous, don’t judge, don’t be anxious, no lustful or hateful thoughts, and keep your word, just to name a few. On top of that, He calls us to do it all perfectly. Ugh! If we are honest, we know we fail daily. Where does that leave us? Truth is, we may not be aware of our foundation till the storm hits, jeopardizing or destroying what we possess.
STORMS
Storms in life come to all of us impacting what is seen “above ground.” Death, job loss, extramarital affair, financial loss, cancer, rejection, betrayal - even a bad grade or a missed field goal (and losing the big game) – can hit our lives. Will we fall apart in despair feeling destroyed and crushed, unable to live? Or, while grieved over the loss, are we still able to stand, moving forward saying as Horatio Spafford did when he lost all four of his children in a shipwreck; “...when sorrows like sea billows roll; whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say, ‘It is well, it is well with my soul’” (Hymn: It Is Well With My Soul). Stand or fall? It depends on what your heart trusts the most to feel significant, secure and blessed - good things of this earth or Jesus.
Make It Personal: A big storm; a loss hit my life. I responded by throwing my Bibles in the trash saying, “What good is this [faith]?” (Thankfully, it was retrieved by my husband.) How could I live, having lost a good thing? I believed in Jesus, yet in reality my functional savior – the foundation I was truly relying on - was something else. My heart trusted in having correct theology, being seen as good and people liking me to have an abundant life. When things went wrong, it felt like God was judging me for sin and because I fell apart, I questioned if I was really saved. But I had it wrong. Someone helped me to see that the storm was really God’s loving grace washing some of the sand out from under my house, inviting me to push my life up onto the Solid Rock. I would have never seen my sand foundation without the storm exposing it. That truth has changed my life. I still have storms and lose my footing as a few more grains of sand get washed out. Yet by God’s grace I can again push up onto the Rock, finding life. The Rock has a name - Jesus. He perfectly lived out all the words He spoke on the mount, even as He was suffering God’s judgment on the cross in my place.
What thing in this world are you standing on to say "Life is good"? Is it reputation, a job, success, or family? Are you anxious you will lose that thing? Maybe you already have. Are you ready to push your life up on The Rock? He is reaching out for you.
Pray: Gracious Father, help me in the storms of life to see and know You; the only permanent foundation that I can never lose. Thank you for sending Jesus to be the Rock on which I can stand.
Read: 2 Corinthians 4:8-11; I Corinthians 3:11; Isaiah 28:16; Psalms 27:5
Listen: How Firm A Foundation - The Petersens (LIVE)
Weekly Memory Verse: “Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.” (Matthew 7:20, NLT)