These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life; homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like the smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit-but nothing moved that house. It was fixed on rock. But if you just use my words in Bible Studies and don’t work them into your life, then you are like the stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards. Matthew 7:24-27 The Message
My parents owned a condominium in Panama City for 43 years. It is one of the first condos built on Thomas Drive, and it has weathered many storms during its tenure. The last hurricane of our ownership, Michael, came through several years ago and destroyed much of the surrounding beach areas. We were sweating the damage report which would come after the storm because electricity and phone lines were down and thus there was no communication.
As the first pictures emerged, we were amazed to see the Regency still standing with little damage. Ironically, most of the damage was contributed to the sand that blew in and accumulated. I was intrigued and began to ask around about the strong structure of that building. It seems that when it was built, the foundation, although on sand to begin with, was built down one half as far as the building was tall until it rested on rock. This foundation has kept it intact all these years.
Just like that building, the foundation of our life is what keeps us grounded. If we build our spiritual life on sand, it will eventually shift and we can lose the footing we need to deal with every day life and problems.
Storms on the ocean, just like storms in life, come fiercely and quickly. They crash the waves against the shore, wash through buildings and cars, shake boats loose from their moorings, uproot trees, and leave destruction behind on the shore. However, by the next morning or so, the ocean will return to normal, the sun will shine, and the winds will be calm. No one but God can explain it!
Life is full of the same kind of storms. Things happen in life which no mortal can explain. None of us can explain COVID-19 totally, just like none of us can explain the root cause of cancer, divorce, depression, alcoholism, drug abuse, child abuse, and so many other things. We like to try and find answers and justify storms, but only God knows why. The thing is, He doesn’t have to ask us for our opinion on it, or how we would solve the problems of life and nature. He is working, and only He knows the end result.
Just like a storm, if we dwell on the debris left behind, we can begin to feel anger and frustration which grows stronger than the storm itself. Driftwood is one of my favorite things to find on the beach after a storm. We usually find it all knotted and gnarled by storms and the journey it has made to reach the shore, but this only adds to its beauty for me. No two pieces will ever be the same because no two pieces have been through the same experience.
Each of us have journeyed through different storms in our life, and no two of us will emerge from them alike. The storms we have endured only add to our strength and beauty. Lives that are built on the sand are shallow at best, but if our lives are built on the rock then we only have to trust Him to see us through.
Why do people think storms will never come and build their houses on sand? No one knows. It is plain to me, that all we need to do is just dig a little deeper, go down until we hit the rock, then just like the storms, life can emerge slowly from the darkness and destruction to become more beautiful and stronger!
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, All other ground is sinking sand. Edward Mote