Alright, tonight is going to
get a little personal and is going to encourage you to be really vulnerable,
honest, and humble with God. Part of it
is going to focus on the parable of the wise and foolish builders and the other
will focus on why we tend to push God away when we need Him most. Why we try to do things ourselves and don’t
realize how badly we need Him till we’ve hit rock bottom.
I know we have all probably
had our doubts in faith but what do we do when those doubts start to consume us
and the devil gets that hold on us?
You’ll find out in this post. For
starts though it’s all about building your house (faith) on a rock and not in
the sand, just as the gospel of Matthew tells us “those who build among the
sand are fools.” This adorable little video does a great job of illustrating Matthew
7:24-27, and for those of you who prefer the text:
24 “Therefore everyone who
hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who
built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams
rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall,
because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears
these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man
who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams
rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great
crash.”
The verse I want to focus on
here is verse 27: “The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat
against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” I want you to notice a specific word, crash.
This is what happens when we build our faith on the sand. It’s not sturdy or strong and it will Not
hold its own when it’s challenged, it will crash and you will crash with
it. This is that rock bottom that I
mentioned in the intro. I know not all
of us will experience rock bottom, and that’s wonderful, but I know we will all
experience a fall. In some way or
another we will stray from the Shepherd.
The parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15 gives us a good idea of the
relationship between ourselves of God.
However there is a myth or whatever that takes this parable a little
further.
It is told that before the shepherd placed the lamb (that
strayed) on his shoulders, he broke its leg, so it could not run away again.
Then by the time the leg has healed the lamb has learned to stay near the
shepherd and trust him. Whether this is
true or not I still like it.
The breaking of our legs is that rock bottom we hit, and as we
heal from the pain, or whatever it was we lean on God and his strength to carry
us. I hit what I think, and hope, was my
rock bottom a little over a month ago. I
wont go into detail, but since then I had really seen a difference in Gods
presence in my life. I am being put into
challenge situations that have been helping me grow and that are teaching me to
go to God first. I was humbled
when I was broken. During this past
month or so I have really been meditating on Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I
have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
plans to give you hope and a future.” My
pride is slowly crumbling and every time I think I can do something on my own I
remember this verse, because my plan will do nothing but hurt me. One thing that is very important about this
verse is that it’s not saying that God will never break us, or knock us down,
or that things will be easy. It is
saying that everything God does to you will make you better if you turn to Him
while you’re going through it. Remember
to always look for that light at the end of the tunnel.
Now. Here is what we have to do. Let God break us.this song,
or find a song that really speaks to you, listen to the lyrics and go back to
you’re rock bottom. Focus on who you
were when you were there. Remember the
feelings and the thoughts of that state.
Now start moving forward and focus on each significant event where God
showed you He was there and when you leaned on Him for strength. Focus on how your faith became stronger with
each passing trial and how you were able to learn and grow from each one. Now focus on your present relationship with
God. On your current faith, feelings,
and thoughts. Notice how far you have
come and thank God that your rock bottom was your new beginning. Be humbled that He left his flock and found
you to save you from the world. I want
you to try and do something. You’re
going to go on a little soul search.
Now, I know this post is already really long, but take 5 more minutes. I want you to listen to
If you have not hit your rock
bottom spend the time of this song thanking God for the people and trials He
has put in your life to help you make your faith strong, and pray for those in
your life that may need a little help with this. Pray for the ones struggling to build their foundation
or for the ones still stuck on the sand.
I really hope some of you
found a little hope within this post or a little relief. Sometimes simply knowing that God does these
things to strengthen us helps us out. I
hope you have a beautiful weekend and if you’re here in Southern Cali. don’t go
outside, because those winds are crazy!
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