The Wise Man Built His House

"The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer."

2 Samuel 22:2 (NKJV)

Walking through major cities, you often see buildings being demolished: wrecking balls taking down structures that were once considered permanent. Some of these buildings lasted less than a hundred years. In Europe, buildings standing for several centuries are common. But even they will eventually come down.

Everything built on a temporary foundation is ultimately temporary. That is simply the nature of things. The only question is whether you discover this during your lifetime or after it.

Jesus told a story about two builders. One built on rock. One built on sand. Outwardly, their houses may have looked similar. The difference was invisible until the storm came. And when the storm came, everything was revealed. The house on sand fell with a great crash. The house on rock stood.

The rock Jesus was describing was Himself. Specifically, the life built on hearing His words and putting them into practice. Not just knowing the Bible. Not just agreeing with its contents. Putting it into practice. Living by it. Allowing it to shape decisions, relationships, priorities, values.

David learned this from experience. He had tried building on other foundations: on military power, on personal achievement, on the affections of others. And he had found them all, in different ways, unreliable. And so he wrote from the place of genuine knowledge: the Lord is my rock. My fortress. My deliverer. Not a poetic sentiment. A hard-won conviction.

What is your house built on? Not in theory, but in the actual shape of your life? When the storms come, as they will, what holds you?

Build on Christ. Build on His Word. Build on the practice of walking with Him daily. Everything else will eventually be reduced to rubble. But what is built on the Rock will stand.

Prayer: Lord, I want to build on You and nothing else. Show me where I have been building on sand, on the approval of others, on my own strength or achievements. Help me to lay every foundation on You. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Pastor Ras
All Nations Community Church

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