Ever Build a House?
In 2005, Alisha & I built our first home when we lived in Huntsville, AL.
We had never done anything like that before. It wasn’t anything that fancy. It was a builder who was developing an entire neighborhood. So we got to pick out our floor plan, the color of the cabinets, the counter tops, & things like that… pretty basic. But it was exciting for us.
Then the work began. We would drive by everyday to see them prepping the site, moving dirt, packing dirt, packing it again… getting the forms set up & everything just right to pour the foundation.
In this particular neighborhood, all the houses were built on a slab. So a lot of time was spent on preparing the soil for the concrete to be poured that would support this house that would be built.
And then the slab was poured & they began framing the house.
I’m not a structural engineer or an architect, & I’ve never been involved in major construction, but I know that the foundation of any house or structure is supremely important. My guess is that you know this too.
Your Foundation Matters
What’s interesting is that we can know the importance of a foundation for a physical building, but forget how important it is to build our lives on a solid foundation.
So often we build our lives on a shaky foundation. People do this all the time. Even Christian people.
We go to church but we build our lives on our own talent & ability. We show up for worship but we build our lives on our careers. We sing songs that say all we need is Jesus, but we live like we really don’t need Him at all. We earn as much money as we can & we give enough to make us feel good, but our confidence is really in that number in our bank account. Not in Christ alone. But we sing In Christ Alone, & part of us wants it to be true.
I’m not judging anyone here today… I’m just sharing what I know is true of me & what I suspect is true of many of us.
It’s much easier to build our lives on our careers, our kids, our accomplishments, our kids accomplishments, our titles, our positions, our talents & our abilities… and we know that all of this comes from God. But if we’re not careful we’ll build our lives on the gifts of God instead of God alone.
[Tweet “If we’re not careful we’ll build our lives on the gifts of God instead of God alone. #LiveDifferent”]Building Your Life on a Different Kind of Foundation
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.” – Matthew 7.24-25
Jesus says that where you begin matters. What you build your life on matters. Your foundation matters.
If you spend your whole life hearing the teachings of Jesus, reading the words of Jesus, and if you take action, if you DO what Jesus SAYS… you are WISE.
The truth is, there are MANY people who hear the words of Jesus, who know the teachings of Jesus, but very few apply the words of Jesus to their lives. Only a few OBEY.
This is so important, it’s critical, Jesus says… because the rain is going to come. We’ve talked about this before, but if you’re experiencing the rain right now, if it feels like the floodwaters are rising, if you’re suffering in any way, that doesn’t mean that God has abandoned you or Jesus has left you.
Fact is, we live in a broken world & sometimes it’s going to rain. Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble.” (John 16.33)
Holding on to the promises of God in the middle of the storm may be one of the hardest things you ever have to do… but you can hold on if your life is built on the solid foundation of a relationship with Jesus. On a lifetime of obedience to his words.
Choosing to build your life on any other foundation? Here’s what Jesus has to say about that…
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 7.26-27
Can you see Jesus looking at these new recruits, his first followers, these people who are early adopters? They’re ready to go all in with Jesus. And you can see him smiling, knowing that they have no idea what He’s really talking about…
They’re excited to follow him, but they really don’t know what that means or what it will be like. But he knows that they will be tempted just like we are tempted to build our lives on other things. To put our hope in other things.
Looking at them with love in his heart & a smile on his face I can just hear him say, “Don’t be foolish.” Trust me. Hope in me. Hear my teaching & just DO what I say. Trust me… this is the way to the good life. This is the way to living a life that won’t come crashing down around you when the storm is raging & the floodwaters are rising!
A Life That is Still Standing
This house was the only house left standing after hurricane Ike hit Galveston back in 2008. It belonged to Warren & Pam Adams.
This was not their first house in this location. Their first house was completely destroyed by hurricane Rita in 2005. They loved the area & the beach so much that they decided to build a new house in the same location. Except this time, they had it built to hurricane standards.
It’s foundation consisted of columns that put the bottom floor 14 feet above ground, 22 feet above sea level. Warren Adams hired an engineering firm to oversee the construction of the home when it was built to make sure it could withstand a hurricane should one come again.
The storm did come, but because of it’s foundation, it was the only house left standing after the storm.
Your foundation matters because storms are going to come. It might be sickness. It might trouble in the family. It might be a problem at work. It might be financial. It could be the loss of a loved one. I don’t know. What I do know is that when the storm comes, you can remain standing if your life is built on the right kind of foundation.
If your life feels like you’ve got a shaky foundation, is it possible that you’ve heard the teachings of Jesus but you’ve built your life on what you think is best?
To move your life from a shaky foundation to a sure foundation means that you start living differently. You start living out what Jesus said. In your family, your business, your job, your friendships, your relationships, even in your church.
It means that you build everything on Jesus.
[Tweet “A different kind of foundation results in a different kind of life. #LiveDifferent”]A different kind of foundation results in a different kind of life.
A life that’s still standing.
