Something has been on my mind for a few weeks. It is a scripture, a parable found in Matthew chapter seven. As I thought about this parable, I couldn’t help but think about a story I heard several years ago.
I was watching the news one night. It was during hurricane season, and it showed the houses destroyed by the catastrophe. It was a scene that stayed with me for several years now. As the camera lens spanned the beach, piles of wood and debris lay where houses once stood – except for ONE house. It remained intact. I wondered what made the difference. It would be several days before I would know the answer to that question.
Just a few days later, someone mentioned that exact house to me. The one I had seen in a photo. They asked if I had heard the details of that house. I responded that I had not heard about it, but I was curious. I listened intently to what was to come.
I was told the house was owned by a couple that lived in my city. When they built the house, they were given the building regulations for how deep the posts had to go to build on the beach. They decided to go deeper than the actual regulations. They went down ten feet deeper than was required.
In their building process, they went above and beyond what was required each time they were given the minimum regulations. In doing so, when the storm came that took out most houses in their area, their home was intact. It stood firm.
Oh, I still love this true story today!
Matthew 7:24-27 says, Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.
The Bible is plain. If we want our house to remain standing in the day of the storm, it must be built upon Jesus (the Rock) and His Word. There is no other way our house can stand.
As I reflected on the house by the beach, I realized that it’s always in our best interest to do more than just the minimum requirements. Attending church services every Sunday is not enough to sustain us in times of trouble. We need to ensure that our lives are consistently built upon the Word of God. It’s important to speak His Word over every aspect of our lives and to reject any words that do not align with His teachings.
We must be diligent to read the Word daily. Study His Word. Pray the Word. Believe the Word above anything and everything else. In doing this, we build our house upon the Rock. A house built upon the Rock will stand firm.
I’m reminded of one of my favorite scriptures, found in Colossians 2:7, Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. (NLT) We simply must let our roots grow down deep into God and His Word. Our lives must be built upon Him if we want it to stand in the day of trouble.
Like the house on the beach, we must go deep into God and His Word. And then go deeper still. Make every day a day to go a little deeper in God. Those who have deep roots have no reason to fear a storm. They know they are founded and built on God and His Word, and nothing can move them. They know they have a promise from God that supersedes any storm that can come their way. They know no weapon formed against them shall prosper because the Word of God says so.
Are your roots deep enough? Can they withstand a storm? Are you firmly built upon the Rock? Now more than ever before, it is a time when deep roots are vital. Make sure your roots are deep in Him and the Word of God. Your house depends upon that truth.
