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Building A Strong Life
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house: and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it Matthew 7: 24-27. Usually when Jesus spoke in parables, He would later explain everything to His disciples. But this parable is self-explanatory. It states an inescapable truth. Every one of us, whether we recognize it or not, is building a life. How strong our life becomes or whether or not it can stand the test of adversity depends upon what we hear and act upon; on what we perceive to be the truth. Jesus pointed out that if we would hear His Word and act upon it, we would be building on a rock so solid that the most violent storm could not destroy us. Jesus also pointed out the nature of life’s trials and adversity. This is demonstrated by the persistent downfall of the rain that created flooding conditions. In addition, the power of the winds (all kinds) used the rain and floodwater like a jackhammer to whittle away at our foundation, walls and roof. This creates a formula for disaster if we ignore the importance of God’s Word. Jesus wanted people to understand that this was not just some new doctrine, alternative lifestyle or new pattern of living. This was not a cultural revolution or some ammunition to use in synagogue debates. The message was not delivered in such a way that the crowd went away saying, "Wow, He’s the man". Most of them simply "missed" it. This was divine truth. It needed to be taken and implemented into every area of life. It would prevent social washout and financial ruin. It would keep us stable in torrential relationships; and when we wake up the next morning after our most stormy encounter with the enemy, we will still be standing strong. From the time we rise up until we go to bed, we’re hearing the Word and doing it. That’s the protocol of building a strong life. The Word of God tells us how to live, how to be blessed, how to love, forgive and pray. The principles are there. We can choose to do them or we can ignore them and forget about them. But we cannot change the Truth. I don’t know about you, but I want to survive the storms of this age. Therefore I search the Word of God and integrate it into my value system. It guides my behavior, my thoughts, my conversation and everything that makes up my life. Because sometimes I feel like running away and sticking my head in the sand. Often circumstances are unfair and unpredictable; people are cruel and undependable. Every moment the grind goes on and on. Many times the Word is the only reliable thing I have to hold on to. Therefore I put my trust and hope in what is written, and to this day, it has brought me through victoriously. Jesus is saying that we must stay alert and responsive to His Word if we want our life to endure. You see, time will tell how well we’ve built. Outwardly some people appear to have it all. But when it comes to building a strong life, there are no alternatives. We may be able to excel outwardly, but inwardly we are all washed out. We can put on our spiritual face and impress people, but we still got to live with ourselves. We can’t fool ourselves and we can’t fool God. So what’s the point? If we know that our life is on shambles and we’re about to collapse, we need to make some decisions; build it strong and build it right. Each one of us is individually responsible for how we build our lives. No one else can do it for us, and we cannot blame others if we crash and burn. So how do we build a strong life? We need to do two things. First we need to hear the Word of God. Second, we need to obey what the Word says. The purpose of the Word of God is to provide us with the proven principles we need to build a strong and stable life. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statues of the Lord are right, rejoicing the soul Psalms 19: 7-8. God told Joshua to never let the Word depart from his mouth, but to meditate on it day and night, and observe to do all that is written in it. Basically the message is the same; hear and obey the Word. In doing so, Joshua would make his way prosperous, and would have and enjoy good success. There is much more to life than having a lot of things. I want to enjoy life. It is foolish to hear the Word and not it. People do it all day every day, but it’s still foolish. Teachers do it, but it’s foolish. Deacons and pastors do it, but it’s foolish. We all know the difference between sand and rock. Rock is hard and dependable. It won’t give away under pressure. It’s dangerous to use sand in the place of rock. We are not building a life just in case a storm should happen to come along. The storm is going to come. It’s inevitable. The rains will fall, the floods will rise and the winds will pound and beat on us. Marriage storms, financial storms, sickness, family problems, people problems, church hassles, and on and on. The storm is not concerned with whether we’ve built on sand or rock. It’s just going to blow and pound. It beats just as hard on the sand as it does the rock. It is consistent, and if there is any weakness in us, it will find it. The question then becomes whether or not we will survive. After the storm has come and gone, will we have anything left? Not if we’re building on sand. Storms don’t wait until we get old; they come in every stage of life. They come to the young, the middle aged, and in later years. We can’t stop them and we can’t control them. All we can do is prepare for them ahead of time. Have you ever seen disaster areas on television? It shows the result of an uncontrollable and unpredictable event. There was no way to accurately predict which house would be swept away. It was not possible to determine where the tree will land. I remember several years ago, a category 5 storm ravaged the community where our ministry house is located. A friend of mine was home when the storm hit. He survived because he sought refuge in a safe place in the basement of his home. He had damage to his home, but he escaped without physical injury. He was prepared. Jesus told Nicodemus that the wind blows where it wants to; and we can’t tell where it’s coming from or where it’s going (see John 3:8). There are many circumstances we face in life that we have no control over. Somebody else makes a decision and our life is impacted by it. If we are to survive, we have to build strong. The grass withereth, the flower fade, but the Word of God stands forever Isaiah 40:8. The Word of God cannot be blown down, flooded or washed away. It never gets weak, not matter how rough the storm. The Word is for people who want to survive. In the parable that Jesus told, the house built on the sand lost everything. There was absolutely no way to rebuild. He heard the Word, understood it, but ignored it. For whatever reason, he did not regard the Word as significant or relevant; and it costed him greatly. I have heard people say, "I’ve got my whole life ahead of me, and I’ll serve God later". Talk about presumptuous thinking. There’s certainly no soundness in that. In truth, we are one storm away from losing all. We would be surprised how much truth enters our ears in a lifetime. More than enough to build our lives strong. But it’s not how much truth we hear, it’s how much we do. If we are wise, we will do what the Word says. We can also choose the alternative. It’s up to us. One thing is for sure; the storm is coming. It will hit from all sides. After the experience is over, we will be so glad that we built on a rock. We can make it through the storm and enjoy a life that’s genuine. Some things in life are good for us, but some things just aren’t worth dealing with. We must deal with things that last. Like Mary, we can sit at the feet of Jesus and take in every word. And we can trust that we have the good part that can never be taken away. When it comes to building a strong life, nothing else compares to the Word of God. By: Edmund Brown |