“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? 47 Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.[a] 49 But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell.[b] And the ruin of that house was great.”
Luke 6: 46-49
The beach is my favorite place. I could sit for hours and watch the waves roll in or read a book while those beautiful sound effects crash against the shore. Did you ever stand right at the shoreline and let the waves come up around your feet and watch as they wash back into that great expanse? You start to lose your footing after a bit. The sand washes right out from under you. That’s what these Bible verses are saying to us.
When the foundation of our faith is built on things that change or go away, we have no sure footing. Relationships with others change, our health changes, our financial security changes. Our tastes, our feelings and our minds change, sometimes daily, or if you’re like me, minute by minute. I’m a thinker (read worrier). I play out every possible scenario in my thoughts and can find myself crying about something that isn’t even real because it might be if this and that happen.
That’s a daily struggle for me when I’m going through difficulties. I have to remind myself to look to Jesus for my help. Psalm 121 says “I will lift up my eyes to the hills – From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.” Once again, the Lord reminds us that He will not allow our feet to be moved when He is our firm foundation.
How do you and I build a strong foundation in our hearts? It starts with putting Christ first in our lives through repentance, the reading of the Bible, prayer and obedience to what we are learning as we read. In verses 46 and 47 above, it teaches us that if we are calling Jesus Lord then we need to be doing His word. Verse 48 says that that person who is obedient to the Word of God is like someone who built a strong foundation.
Building a house requires a foundation. If you don’t dig deep and build a strong foundation, your house isn’t going to stand the test of time. Years of rain and storms and wind will take its toll and the house will begin to falter and lean, eventually falling over if nothing is done to fix it. When I was a young woman, I lived in an apartment in an old Victorian house. Beside the house was an alley, and on the other side of the alley there was a small house that was built with three corners on the ground. The hillside dipped down below the house and the fourth corner in the back was propped on a tree about fifteen to twenty feet high. I’m not sure who thought that was a good idea but the house was there for quite some time. One day the house just collapsed. Thankfully, no one was home or hurt. I don’t remember even knowing it was propped up until it fell. That side of the house wasn’t clearly visible.
That’s kind of like us. Others can’t see what’s going on with our foundation. We can fool them, we can even fool ourselves, but the Lord knows what our foundation is. Is your foundation built on something or someone that changes? There is hope for our troubled hearts. The Lord does not change and He promises to never leave us. When your world is falling apart, run to Jesus. He is that strong foundation for our lives. His Word is able to breathe life into our brokenness. Let’s make Him our Rock so that He can hold us when we just can’t do it ourselves.
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