FOCUS Day Forty-Four | Matthew 7:24-29 by Abigail
DAY FORTY-FOUR | Matthew 7:24-29 by Abigail
“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
“But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
A Lighthouse in the Storm
I have always liked this story. I used to picture a lighthouse on a stormy day, and how it had such a good foundation so it was able to withstand the storms. Then I would think of a sad little hut that tried to be strong in the storm and fell away because it was on the sand.
In these verses, Jesus paints a beautiful contrast between the wise and the foolish – those who are able to withstand the storm, and those who are not. He says that those who listen and become doers of His words are the ones who have strong foundations. Those who do not follow through are foolish, building on a foundation of sand. When the winds and rain blow in, the house cannot stand.
This passage comes at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus shared a lot of really important thoughts with His followers. He is really telling them that just being present and hearing the words wouldn’t be enough. The Kingdom message would only work if they put His teaching into practice.
The good thing about Jesus is that He was the perfect example of One who lived by these words. He didn’t just talk about praying or preach sermons about it. He regularly went to spend time with the Father and seek after Him for the next season. And we are called to do the same.
One way that we can be strong enough to withstand the storms that come is by making time to be with God, and then listening and obeying the things that He reveals to us in His Word and in prayer. He knows that our foundation is strong when we are seeking Him. I have learned that seeking Jesus first in the secret place is one of the biggest ways of growing that strong foundation.
On the other hand, when we don’t take the time to be with God in worship, prayer, journaling and reading the Bible, whatever foundation that we might think we have is just a fantasy. Our want for the easy path is so alluring, we get tempted into ignoring that invitation for intimacy. And when we get into hurricanes, we try to go to the foundation we have made for ourselves. It either holds to the rock it was made for and on, or we watch our little huts on the sand wash away.
When we look and ask, “Where is my lighthouse?”, we are surprised we don’t have a very big light, or maybe we don’t have one at all. When we don’t build our lives on the foundation that Jesus offers, we try to fabricate something ourselves. But that doesn’t work. Our foundation can only be strong when we build our lives on the One who knows best for us.
We need to accept His invitation into intimacy and say yes to Him. All He wants is for us to say yes. He wants to make us like Him. We can take down our huts and say, “I can’t do it on my own. Can you help?” He gives us Himself to build on and builds our foundation with us, teaching us Himself.
I have found that when I have a strong foundation, Jesus allows me to be a lighthouse to others. He has shown Himself faithful in our journey to show me where I can make my foundation on the rock stronger, and how to be a lighthouse like Him. As you grow your foundation on the rock, God continues to reveal Himself to us on deeper levels. It is like how a Father relates and communicates with His children as they grow older.
Jesus loves to get deeper as our foundation gets stronger, and it delights Him to see us grow up in our relationship with Him. Part of growing a stronger foundation happens in the storms and shaking. The Bible says that God will shake things so people can know what can’t be shaken. When things are crazy and things are shaking and there are big storms with big waves, we have our foundation in God, and He can not be shaken.
That also applies to our personal lives as well. So we go through painful and hard times where God is strengthening us or even testing us. Sometimes it is easy to sing or pray, “Jesus, I give you everything. I will love you and trust You forever.” Sometimes God could be letting Satan test us, like when he whispers like he did in Job 1:9-ll
“So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!”
The times of testing are not for God. He is faithful and already knows the outcome. The storms are actually for us to know and practice putting our trust in Him. Then, we won’t need to fear the storms, and our light will continue to shine in hurricanes.
My prayer in that we can be strong in the foundation we have in the Rock. I pray that we can have humility to recognize that we can’t be a true light or have a strong foundation without Him. Jesus, I ask you to come and help us shine as bright lights and be built up and strengthened in You.
