A Lasting Foundation

When the storms of life come, the wicked are whirled away,

but the godly have a lasting foundation. Proverbs 10:25

WE CAN’T HELP but wonder if Jesus had this proverb in mind when he told the story of the wise builder and the foolish builder. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash” (Matthew 7:24-27).

The wise builder and the foolish builder have at least two things in common. First, they both hear the teaching of Jesus. (We could think of them as two people who both hear the same sermon at church on Sunday.) The second thing they have in common is the storm, which descends on both of them with the same destructive power.

But there’s also something they don’t have in common. When the wise builder hears God’s Word, he follows it. Another translation says he “work[s] these words into [his] life” (MSG). And that makes all the difference when the storm comes. The person who has not just heard God’s Word but has put it into practice and made it a part of who he is does not need to fear the storms of life. It’s not that he won’t be affected by the storms but that he won’t be destroyed by them. His life will have been built on something solid that won’t give way under the pressure of the storm —the sure and certain Word of God.

Lord, how I long for ________’s life to be built on something solid and secure —the truth of your Word. Show me, day by day, how I can help ________ not just to hear your Word, but to work your Word into her life. May your Word become part of the fabric and foundation of her life so that when the storms come, ________ will not be destroyed by them.