Floodwaters
My husband and I were buying a truck and while he went to do the paperwork, I sat with the salesman and chatted. He was a young man, talking about his high school and college football years. The conversation turned to his four-year-old son and his fears for him in this crazy world. I told him that as much as he would like to, he cannot shield him from the hurts and hardships of living in a sinful world, but he CAN prepare him for the next life—one with Jesus. Everything changed at that moment and we talked deeply of what that means.
We’ve all watched in horror and sadness as people lost everything, including loved ones, in recent fires and floods. Plane crashes have caught our attention. Some of us have had The Diagnosis that changes lives, either for us personally or a loved one. That car comes out of nowhere…the loss of a job that was so unexpected…the death of a loved one that now leaves a void…. Sometimes the issue is much smaller in scale but nevertheless important, such as a bill with no means to pay, a problem with a wayward child, or aging parents; the list goes on.
How does one prepare for such a thing? You can plan, have all your supplies gathered, all your insurance purchased, all your preparations made, and still not be ready. There’s only so much physical preparation you can do.
We have also seen the heartbreaking stories from the survivors on news stories of the hurricane in western NC. One family was together on the roof of their house when the house tore apart and only two adult daughters survived. (How do you watch your parents and your child drown before your eyes?) One daughter’s 10-year-old son Micah’s last words were of a child crying out to Jesus in pure faith. He was prepared for “what comes next.” That family had deep spiritual roots; Micah knew that the wise man builds his house upon the Rock.
It takes our spiritual preparation, building a firm foundation by knowing and trusting God. Storms will come in one form or another, but a life built on Him will enable us to endure. It may not be a natural disaster, but one of those smaller situations that knock our feet out from under us. We need a firm foundation.
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.” --
Matthew 7:24-27
Job lost everything at the hand of Satan and his wife wanted him to curse God and die. He told her that she sounded foolish and responded, “Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” (Job 2:10b)
What will we say when the hard times come? Will it be a testimony of faith or a curse? Let us model for the next generation how to lay a firm foundation, the Rock on which we stand.
Jesus is the Rock.
