“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.” Mattew 7:24 (NLT)
Most of us are familiar with this verse. And the next “Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.”
And the rain will come. We all know that. Just a year ago my husband had a surgery that did not go well, and it rocked our world. But thankfully, we had built our house on the solid rock of Christ. That is not to say we have not struggled, but we have hung on to the solid rock as the storm swirled around us.
This teaching is part of what we know as the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus was talking to a large crowd of followers, and he had taught many things. But here’s what he’s really saying here, to a large crowd that had followed him out into the countryside. I can teach you all day, but unless you put my teachings into practice they aren’t doing you a bit of good! The wise won’t just hear but will do.
No doubt this was a mixed crowd. The believers, the curious onlookers waiting for a show of miracles, and those who were testing the waters trying to figure out if they could believe the stories they had heard. This whole day was filled with teaching about many familiar things, but the teaching did not feel warm and familiar, it felt challenging, it felt like taking a step out of the ordinary and walking into a life that did not look like the lives the religious leaders of the day had been modeling.
And a few days ago as we progressed from a routine office visit to the emergency room, we find ourselves again so thankful that we have built on the rock. In this same sermon, we hear “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” Matthew 6:24
And I find myself grateful once again for the promises planted deep in my heart.
Let’s Think This Through
What storms are you facing right now? How does your faith in Christ strengthen you?
If you aren’t experiencing one of the “big ones” just now, are you reinforcing the foundation of your house?
Father, we know that storms will knock us all off our feet at some time or another. I pray that we will be prepared by the daily practice of living the life that is built on Christ. I thank you too that your word comforts as well as guides.
For those walking through a storm right now, we claim your promise. “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20
I’m linking up with my friend Lily Dunbar.
Share your thoughts…