[paraphrased from Suzanne Eller’s “Come With Me Devotional” – A yearlong adventure in following Jesus. #40 Devotional:]
Scripture
Luke 6:48
47 Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.[a] 49 But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”
A storm is dangerous to the house built on sand. Wind stirs in the mountains or in the ocean, creating tumultuous squalls along the seashore. We all experience this with the seasonal hurricanes and tropical storms every year. Sand shifts and blows away, and the house tumbles down. Not so for the house built upon a rock.
Why would anyone build a house on sand? Because it’s easier. The rock Jesus describes in this parable is native rock that rises up through the earth. It’s sturdy and unmovable, so a person has to excavate deep to find it. It takes longer, but the builder who secures his home with such solid groundwork has a great chance of standing strong in a storm.
Oh, the lessons in this story!
Life will batter us. Squalls blow out of nowhere. Trials come. Like this election we just experienced. Or the COVID virus we have been haunted with for nearly a year now.
When we safeguard our heart in the Rock of Ages, we are anchored. It’s easier to settle for shallow faith, but when we tie ourselves to unmovable faith, the calm in our hearts is far greater.
Questions to Consider:
What are some challenges you are facing today that are shaking your faith?
What are things you can do to make your faith stronger this week?
Reflect:
Anchor your soul in what cannot be stolen, swept away, or destroyed. Meditate on the below verses.
Matthew 6:19-21
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Prayer:
Father God, I thank You that You are the God of the impossible. You can do anything. I want to trust in Your ability and not my own. Teach me to see difficulties in my life from Your perspective. Help me to focus on You and Your power. Banish any doubt from my heart and fill me with your Spirit of truth. You will never leave me or forsake me (Joshua 1:5).I love you Father with all my heart and soul. In Christ’s name I pray – Amen.