So I awoke this morning to another beautiful day….the birds are chirping, the sun is out, the crabs and lizards are running around my porch, and from my vantage point there doesn’t seem to be a cloud in the sky. But as I went to sleep last night, the storm was raging. The lightning flashing. The thunder booming. But even though the storm was all around us, and the rain fell and the winds blew, my house is still standing this morning. For anything to be able to survive a storm, it must be built on a firm foundation.
Everything that is built to last is built on a solid foundation. Skyscrapers aren’t built on just a foundation, but their supports are driven deep into the Earth. And like all architectural structures, we must be built on a strong foundation if we are going to survive the storms of life. “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell and great was its fall. (Matthew 7:24-27.)”
What are you building the foundation of your life on? I can speak to this with the greatest certainty that if you build your life on sand…..you EVENTUALLY will come crashing down when the storms come; and trust me…..the storms will come.
Over the past 6 months or so I have slowly rebuilt my foundation. It’s never to late to do a little renovation. Just take one of the boys favorite shows for example. Chip and Joanna Gaines are always rebuilding old houses on their show “Fixer Upper.” As long as the basic bones are there, the house CAN be rebuilt.
I used to listen to Fox News 24/7. Not that it isn’t important to keep up on current events, but if you fill your mind with negativity all day everyday, it can only lead to a negative life. Now I listen to sermons from Stephen Furtick, Joel Osteen, the occasional sermon my mother sends me from her church, while I’m driving to and from work everyday. I’m in church every Sunday morning. On my phone I have a Bible app where I get my daily reading in on my downtime at work (while I’m loading software on planes.) I’m not saying I don’t listen to Fox News anymore, but if there isn’t some breaking story on….I change it.
Okay….so what am I really trying to say here? The point I’m trying to get across is this……When the storms blow in, when life starts to really get hard, what is your life built on? What do you fall back to? Are you trying to lose yourself in that moment by switching on the News, drowning out your struggles with some blaring music on your radio, or are you looking to God? These days I look to God. I don’t look to Neil Cavuto or Bill O’Reilly anymore to help me forget about my struggles.
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30.)”
The renovation of my house is not yet complete, but I know that when the skies start to get grey, when the Doppler Radar starts to have a little more red on it than I like, that I will be just fine. My faith that Jesus Christ is with me, holding my hand and walking with me in the good times, and more importantly, carrying me in the bad, makes getting through stormy days all that much easier.
So the real question is this? Are you going to continue to live your life on sand or are you going to start your own personal renovation….a renovation that will solidify your foundation….a renovation that will place your life on the solid rock of Jesus Christ.
Tetelestai 