It can be so easy to get lost in all the cares of the world with all that’s going on today. Whether it's recent news and world events or even personal concerns like our finances, relationships, health and safety. It can sometimes feel like our lives are unstable. When you’re going through the storms of life, you may also wonder at times if you can fully trust God. The beautiful thing is: God understands that life is difficult at times; that’s why He gave us so many promises to hold on to when we’re going through a storm. In this week’s devotional, we will be taking a deeper look at Matthew 6:24-27 with supporting scriptures to better understand how to build our lives on the solid foundation of Jesus, so that we will not be shaken despite what comes our way.
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
The first question to ask ourselves when looking at this parable is: what does it mean to build our house on the rock versus building on the sand? Jesus illustrates that He Himself and His teachings are a solid rock, so if we shape our lives according to Him, we will remain solid and content no matter what happens. On the other hand, if we try to shape our lives according to our own feelings or the wisdom of anything and anyone but Jesus, we will ultimately be shaken and fall when we’re faced with difficult trials.
You may be wondering, how do we know we can trust and build our lives on God’s word compared to following what we think is right? We must first understand that because God is perfect, it’s impossible for Him to lie (Numbers 23:19). So if His word says something, that means it is a promise and the absolute truth. Psalm 18:30 says, “This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.” Even further than that verse, Jesus assured us that His word is more eternal and secure than all of creation when He said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words will never pass away” (Matthew 24:35). We have countless examples of how God’s word is perfect. There were over 300 prophecies in the OT about the coming messiah written hundreds of years before Jesus came, and Jesus fulfilled every single prophecy to the exact detail. We can take away that if God promises us something in His word, He WILL fulfill His promise if we obey and trust what He says (Isaiah 55:11).
Our other option is to build our lives on the sand and follow the ways of the world or what we think is right. When we’re facing a difficult situation, we all sometimes like to think we know what’s best and “trust our gut”. But how many times have we followed our own way and ended up disappointed, defeated, and discouraged at the outcome? That’s because we, as humans, aren’t truly wise. Though our hearts may feel something strongly, the Bible says the heart is deceitful and wicked (Jeremiah 17:9), meaning our hearts will lie to us and push us towards evil even when we think we’re doing the right thing. We also see this in Proverbs 14:12 which states, “There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way to death.” We may also wonder why we can’t trust what the world says either. God specifically answers this question in 1 John 2:15 which says, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” The reason we see this in the Bible is because the ways of the world are led by the devil, so to put your trust in the world is to put your trust in the devil (Ephesians 2:1-3, John 8:44-47).
If we can’t trust our hearts and the ways of the world around us, then who can we trust but God and His word? God understands we have a tendency to follow our own desires which is why the Bible constantly reminds us to deny ourselves and put our trust in God alone (Proverbs 3:5-6, Matthew 16:24). The point is you CAN trust God. Jesus tells us that there will be storms and difficult seasons, but when you build your life upon God’s word you will stand strong with hope, peace, joy, and stability in your life no matter what comes your way (John 14:27, Philippians 4:6-7, Romans 15:13).
More importantly, we must remember as followers of Jesus that our hope isn’t ultimately in this life but in the eternal life that God promised us through our faith in the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Through much suffering, Jesus shed His blood for us, died a gruesome death on the cross, and rose from the dead, so that those who put their trust in Him as Lord and Savior could be free from death and sin. Jesus gives us a promise for the result of a life built upon the rock in John 8:15, “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death”. When we keep our thoughts and hope set on the life to come and not this world (Col. 3:2), there is truly nothing that can shake us, not even death. The Bible also promises us that in the eternal life to come, God “will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore” (Rev. 21:4).
Now that we have a deeper understanding of how and why to build our lives on the rock of Jesus, let's discuss how we can apply these truths to our everyday lives.
1. Meditate and dwell on God’s word
In Psalm 1, David writes that blessed is the one whose “delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” We should all read God’s word daily, but if we just read His word without reflecting on it and applying it to our lives, we’re essentially deceiving ourselves (James 1:22-25). When we truly dwell (Col. 3:16), reflect on, and apply His word daily, our minds will continue to be renewed (Romans 12:2). The Word becomes a part of who we are which makes us more like Jesus (2 Cor. 3:18).
2. Respond to the storm with the promises of God
When faced with difficult situations or negative thoughts, we should remember, cling to, and declare the promises of God over our lives rather than fixing our worries on the issue. In Ephesians 6, when talking about spiritual warfare, Paul says, “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” When Jesus was being tempted by Satan in the wilderness, he fought back by declaring the word of God (Matthew 4:1-11). So when your back is against the wall and the enemy is attacking your mind with lies, hold fast to the absolute truth of the Word and put your trust in God to help you get through whatever you’re facing.
3. Seek God at all times
Jesus had a direct and simple response to those who may be concerned with the everyday worries and anxieties of this life. In Matthew 6:33-34, He says, “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” God knows and understands our struggles, but He also knows that He can handle any problem or situation that we face when we put our full trust in Him. When we try to handle and worry about these things on our own, however, we’re basically telling God that we can handle it ourselves and don’t fully trust Him. Jesus loves us deeply; He wants us to give Him our heavy burdens and surrender ourselves to seeking Him wholeheartedly, so He can give us peace and solve our problems for us (Matthew 11:28).
Thank you for being with us for this week’s devotional. We hope and pray this was a blessing to you and that you look forward to working on building your life on the solid foundation of Christ moving forward! If you have any questions regarding anything mentioned in this devotional or haven’t yet surrendered your life to Christ, please contact us through the website. We also want to pray for you! If you have any prayer requests for yourself or others, you can go to the prayer requests section of our website and submit your request. Thank you once again, we hope and pray you have a blessed week!