contributed by Katie Driver, Worship Director
Matthew 7:24-27
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 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. 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. 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.”
Jesus spoke in many parables during His time on earth, but this is my favorite. When I read it, I can picture the rain falling, the flood rising and nearly hear the wind howling as it beats upon each of the two houses described. And then I picture the devastation of a house--built on sand--that has been entirely annihilated by the storms. And I see myself. I see the times when I’ve built my life on things, or people, or plans. I see how none of that ever holds up. Then, I picture the first house. The house that--when the rains fell and the floods came and the winds blew--stood tall and firm. That house is founded on the rock.
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 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. 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. 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.”
Jesus spoke in many parables during His time on earth, but this is my favorite. When I read it, I can picture the rain falling, the flood rising and nearly hear the wind howling as it beats upon each of the two houses described. And then I picture the devastation of a house--built on sand--that has been entirely annihilated by the storms. And I see myself. I see the times when I’ve built my life on things, or people, or plans. I see how none of that ever holds up. Then, I picture the first house. The house that--when the rains fell and the floods came and the winds blew--stood tall and firm. That house is founded on the rock.
We all know that a house simply cannot be founded on sand. It isn’t strong. It moves and takes in water. But rock, on the other hand, is solid and steady. It is stationary. It is nonporous. It is reliable. And I think I speak for all of us when I say that we want to build our houses--both literal and metaphorical--on something reliable!
Most of us understand this principle, but do we apply it? Unfortunately, it is so easy for us to read or hear this passage and move on or forget. But my challenge for us this week is to truly grasp what Jesus is telling us. When we build our lives on the things this world has to offer like money, power, relationships, materials, popularity, grades, careers, or anything else, we will ultimately experience the devastation of watching our lives fall apart like the house built on the sand.
Most of us understand this principle, but do we apply it? Unfortunately, it is so easy for us to read or hear this passage and move on or forget. But my challenge for us this week is to truly grasp what Jesus is telling us. When we build our lives on the things this world has to offer like money, power, relationships, materials, popularity, grades, careers, or anything else, we will ultimately experience the devastation of watching our lives fall apart like the house built on the sand.
But, when we build our lives on Jesus Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2)--when we truly and honestly build our lives on the Rock, we will endure the storms. I think it’s important here to note that Jesus does not say that if we build our houses on the Rock we won’t experience storms. On the contrary, he says the rains will fall and the floods will come and the winds will blow and beat against our houses. But the houses will not fall! When we fix our eyes on Jesus and truly believe that He is all we need, we will be able to stand through the storm. When our hope is in Him alone, we will survive when all else seems destroyed. And those storms will allow us to draw closer to Him--closer to the Rock.
But I am truly honest with you and with myself, sometimes that is really, really hard. I have plans for my life. I have things I want to see happen and goals and dreams and sometimes, those things cloud my vision of my Savior. Sometimes I get caught up in what I’ve planned for myself that I begin to build my life upon those sandy plans. I put my hope in those things instead of in Jesus. And, when the storm comes I find myself disappointed and broken. But He is so faithful to meet me where I am. He is so able to pick me up and set my feet upon the Rock once more.
I pray that you find hope in this truth today. The things of this world will fade but “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8)”. He is good. He is the Rock. All other ground is sinking sand.
“My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.”
Edward Mote
In His Grip,
Katie Driver
But I am truly honest with you and with myself, sometimes that is really, really hard. I have plans for my life. I have things I want to see happen and goals and dreams and sometimes, those things cloud my vision of my Savior. Sometimes I get caught up in what I’ve planned for myself that I begin to build my life upon those sandy plans. I put my hope in those things instead of in Jesus. And, when the storm comes I find myself disappointed and broken. But He is so faithful to meet me where I am. He is so able to pick me up and set my feet upon the Rock once more.
I pray that you find hope in this truth today. The things of this world will fade but “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8)”. He is good. He is the Rock. All other ground is sinking sand.
“My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.”
Edward Mote
In His Grip,
Katie Driver
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