Tag Archives: build your life on the rock

January 16, 2024 · 5:30 AM

A Foundation Of Grace

Growing up on the Gulf Coast I’ve seen first hand the impact storms and hurricanes have had on homes and buildings. Hurricane Andrew hit the Bahamas and Florida in 1992 as a Category Five. It was the most destructive hurricane to ever hit Florida destroying homes and buildings. It was also the most costly for about 25 years. Afterwards, people changed how they built their houses. One of the biggest construction changes made was to the load path of the structure. They began to build them so that when the high winds came, it directed the wind loads on the roof and walls down to the foundation. A strong foundation can help a building endure just about any storm when the load is directed to it. Without this change, storms could wipe outa building leaving the foundation in tact.

Paul endured many real storms in his life and metaphorical ones too. His life was built on the Word of God and had a load path that directed life’s stresses to his foundation. In 2 Corinthians 12 he mentions a thorn in his flesh that was a messenger from Satan to torment him. He asked God to take away this storm, but He didn’t. God wanted to teach Paul how to direct the tension to his foundation. Jesus said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness” (NLT). From then on, Paul began to be glad about his own weaknesses because it wasn’t up to him or his strength to withstand the storm. He learned how to trust God in his weakness by relying on the firm foundation of grace.

Proverbs 10:25 says, “When the storms of life come, the wicked are whirled away, but the godly have a lasting foundation.” Have you been relying on your own strength to endure or have you been directing everything to your foundation? I’ve personally tried it both ways. In one instance, I lost everything but the foundation. However, when I let God rebuild my life, I learned to trust in Him and direct everything to the source of strength in my life. Having a form foundation or a life built on God’s Word doesn’t exempt you from storms. It simply helps you weather them. When the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy everything in your life, you can still be standing because your foundation is firm and you trust in God to help you endure. His strength is perfect and His grace is sufficient for whatever storm you’re facing.

Photo by Zoltan Tasi on Unsplash

1 Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

February 22, 2023 · 5:47 AM

Withstanding The Storm

When hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana and Mississippi, the company I worked for sent me in as a first responder to get communications back up. We couldn’t get into New Orleans that morning, so we established a command post in Baton Rouge. Myself and three others made our way to Pensacola, Florida with the goal of getting inventory and cash from all the stores along the coast. When we stopped in Biloxi, Mississippi, we only found a foundation where the store once stood. Everything was gone. Several miles away, the store in Gulfport was still there. As we were loading inventory in the vans, there was a knock on the plywood that covered the front of the store. A line of people gathered who had lost just about everything. They wanted to call family to check on them and let them know they survived. We handed them our phones while we worked. I saw gratefulness like I had never seen and was touched to be able to help.

In Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus told the story of a similar storm. The rains and wind came with a hurricane force. One person had built his house on a firm foundation, and when the storm came, it was able to withstand the storm. Another person didn’t use a foundation of rock. They had just built their house on the ground. He said that when the storm came there was a great crash as that house fell down and was washed away. Both people He talked about had heard the Word of God. The difference was that one applied it to their life. That person received a firm foundation on which to build their life. Jesus was illustrating that it’s not enough to go to church and hear a sermon each week. It’s not enough to read the Bible. We must apply what we learn and what we read or we won’t be able to withstand the storm of His judgment or from this life.

Proverbs 10:25 says, “The wicked are blown away by every stormy wind. But when a catastrophe comes, the lovers of God have a secure anchor” (TPT). Notice how it doesn’t say, “if a catastrophe comes.” We’re all going to face catastrophe and storms in this life. The Bible says it rains on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45). How we’re able to respond and survive depends on what we are anchored to and what kind of foundation we have. When my life was hit with catastrophe, I remember seeing a visual of myself laying on a foundation with boards and debris all around it. In that moment, I remember God reminding me that though everything else had to be rebuilt, I was on a solid foundation. What is your life built on? When catastrophe strikes, what is your anchor attached to? Anything less than the Word of God will not be enough. It’s not too late to change the foundation your life is built on. Study the Bible and live by it. His Word is enough to withstand any storm.

Photo by Joshua Earle on Unsplash

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

August 9, 2019 · 5:52 AM

Building Your Life

When I was 16 years old, I took a job working in new home construction. I remember it being very hot that summer. As we would begin a house, we would go back to the blueprints nonstop in order to make sure everything was where it was supposed to be. I started out being the stud guy. I had to go around all the base boards, measure out 16 inches and put an “X” on the board. Later, as the frame was being finished, the guys had me look at the boards they were using on the roof to tell them if the crown was up or down. Everything we did as framers mattered because the other crews were going to be using the same blueprints to do their jobs in order to complete the house.

God has put it in each one of us to be builders. Most of us are never going to build a house, but we build businesses, families, a life, etc. It matters how we build those things more than it does in building a house. The materials, the layout and the quality with which we build our lives on will one day be judged. Are we building with eternity in mind? If not, the things we build won’t last. We are to build our lives using God’s blueprints found in the Bible. We are to build on a strong foundation otherwise the things we build can be wiped out by life’s storms. It’s no fun starting over, but I’d rather have the opportunity to rebuild here than to wait until eternity to see if the things I’ve built are structurally sound.

Here are some Bible verses on building your life with quality materials.

1. Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value.

1 Corinthians 3:12-13 NLT

2. So everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, will be like a wise man [a far-sighted, practical, and sensible man] who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods and torrents came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.

MATTHEW 7:24-25 AMP

3. Keep your roots deep in him, build your lives on him, and become stronger in your faith, as you were taught. And be filled with thanksgiving.

Colossians 2:7 GNT

4. Why are you so polite with me, always saying ‘Yes, sir,’ and ‘That’s right, sir,’ but never doing a thing I tell you? These words I speak to you are not mere additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundation words, words to build a life on.

Luke 6:46-47 MSG

5. But you, dear friends, carefully build yourselves up in this most holy faith by praying in the Holy Spirit, staying right at the center of God’s love, keeping your arms open and outstretched, ready for the mercy of our Master, Jesus Christ. This is the unending life, the real life!

Jude 1:20-21 MSG

Photo by Greyson Joralemon on Unsplash

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,