Monday, March 7, 2011

Can Your House Hold Up?


I was reminded of this Scripture this morning:
Matthew 7:24 - “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. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Anyone would tell you that it's better to build on a firm foundation like rock, rather than sand. We've probably all heard enough sermons on this passage to know that the rock is Jesus and His Word.

I find it interesting that it's the exact same scenario for the wise and the foolish man, only with a different outcome due to one thing - their foundation. What determined their foundation? The wise man heard the Word and put it into practice.


It says the rain came down. . .
Have you ever had a rainy, cloudy day in your spirit? Have you felt depression knocking at your door? Are there more bills than money to pay them? Maybe you or a loved one is facing health problems. Whatever the problem(s) may be, sometimes it feels like all rain and no sunshine.

Then it says the streams rose. . .
How many know that when it rains in your life long enough, the streams begin to rise and it seems as if the water is going to overflow the banks. Often this is how we feel when we focus on all our problems, until they become larger than life and we are overwhelmed.

As if fearing a flood isn’t enough, it says the winds blew and beat against the house . . .
Here is where the enemy has kicked it up a notch – this is no gentle breeze we’re talking about here. Satan is whipping the winds of lies, accusing and tormenting thoughts in an effort to bring your house down.

Why am I bringing this up?


Because too many Christians have been deceived into thinking that if they love God, and God obviously loves them, that they won’t have to face the rain, rising streams, and wind in their lives. They seem to think that is reserved for the foolish man only. Do not be deceived, the Bible says in Matthew 5 that He causes the sun to shine on both good and evil, and the rain on the righteous and unrighteous. If He didn’t spare His only Son from the cross, how do we think we’re to escape sharing the fellowship of His suffering? It is for a much bigger purpose than our minds can even comprehend, and we don’t have the whole picture.

At the end of the day, we have to trust in these fundamental principals about God:

God is good, all the time! (Psalm 73:1), God is fair & just (Hebrews 6:10), God is not like man, He never lies (Numbers 23:19) , God doesn’t want to harm us, but has a plan to give us hope and a future – (Jeremiah 29:11), God loves us with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3)


The promises go on and on – we just need to HEAR them, and then put them into ACTION!

Then we’ll be like the wise man with a firm foundation…and we’ll be able to stand against the attacks of the enemy! (Isaiah 54:17)

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