Jessica Albritton, Family Connections Minister, LHBC
Matthew 7:24-27
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
About a year ago our staff moved offices from the Sango campus to the admin house across the street. It’s a great little house and our staff can get the mundane work done without disrupting Chapel Hill and vice versa. We were all excited to have the space. There was only one issue. The parking. Before we paved the parking there was one narrow driveway in and out. You could get maybe 5 cars parked. And that’s if you tightly squeezed in a nice little row. On days where we had all staff meetings it became a true test of patience and endurance as well as strengthened everyone’s Tetris skills. We could typically get us all situated but once we all started to trickle out it was a logistical nightmare. There was no driving around, there was no sliding past, it was either we all left together at the same time or we all had to go outside and play a not so fun game of car shuffle. Many opted to park on the grass either on the side of the driveway or in the front yard. That wasn’t an issue at first but we quickly started to destroy the yard. Grass was torn up and dirt exposed. Then came the spring. Rain was harsh that season and there were a few instances where cars got stuck. When that happened, in the pouring rain, we all got to participate in team building exercises of pushing vehicles out of the muck. One day the words we were all waiting for were spoken. “That’s it. We are paving this yard!” Finally! The only issue, it was still the middle of spring and it rained. Every. Single. Day. We had the paving appointment on the calendar for weeks but the team couldn’t come and lay the concrete because of the rain. And when it wasn’t raining the ground was too wet from the rain the day(s) before. It’s impossible to pour a foundation when it’s raining outside. It’ll just wash away. That fact mulled over in my head for a while. And one day it hit me.
In Matthew chapter 7 Jesus tells a parable of 2 men, one who built a house on a rock, the other on sand. Of course, the foundation Jesus is referring to here is Himself and the relationship that comes with salvation. The house is the life of the believer. The picture here is when a believer builds their life on Jesus, our firm foundation, their life will be able to withstand all that the world might throw at them. But when a life is built on the things of this world it is no surprise when hardships come their life falls apart. We get that part. Pretty simple right? But let’s look at that foundation part for a minute. Friend, it’s impossible to pour a foundation when it is raining outside. It’ll just wash away. But we do that, don’t we? We build our lives on the things of this world because it’s more convenient or appealing. And then when the hardships of life hit, and our lives start to fall apart, we suddenly want to move our house. That’s when we run to Jesus and pray for Him to fix it. We treat Jesus like a magical genie that will fix us up in the bad times, and when we are all better, we put our house back in the sand.
Fellow believer, we must fight the temptation to do this. We must cultivate a solid relationship with God BEFORE it starts raining down suffering and hardships. We must exemplify a life that is not just honoring God when things are hard, but when life is going well too. We can’t treat Jesus like an optional foundation and safe haven when needed yet rely on our own self-sufficiency when all is well. Prayer and Bible reading should be a daily habit in order to grow our relationship and strengthen the foundation, not a last resort to get out of a big mess.
What about you? Is your house built on the Rock or on the sand? If you said sand, it’s time to move that house!
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Heavenly Father, You are our Rock and Firm Foundation! Lord, help me to keep building my life on You and not myself or the things of this world! Lord, may I run to You when storms come AS WELL AS when the sun is out! In Jesus name, amen!
MEMORY VERSE OF THE WEEK:
Matthew 7:28-29
28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.