In Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus takes a verbal brush and paints an important picture about two contrasting ways of living life. Notice carefully how the brushstrokes come together on His canvas.
Anyone who listens to my teaching and obeys me 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 the house, it won’t collapse, because it is build on rock. But anyone who hears my teaching and ignores 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 fall with a mighty crash.
I have to stop and seriously think about my life in light of our Savior’s words. On what foundation am I building my house? During our years in Oklahoma, if you were to walk around our home, you might find a crack or two the drywall—the result of the incredibly dry weather in the Sooner state. The ground was so dry that the foundation of our home shifted and cracks appeared. How should one get rid of these cracks?
Christa and I had attempted over the years to cover up these annoying cracks. A little plaster here . . . a little plaster there, but they kept coming back (often, only worse!). Putting a plaster Band-Aid on the cracks did nothing. The problem was the underpinning, and the only way to resolve that concern was for me to make a serious investment in repairing the foundation.
How is your spiritual foundation right now? A worthy question for you to wrestle with is this: are there cracks in your spiritual drywall? If so, these are signs that something is not quite right. What are you doing about them? Are you merely ignoring them or covering them up with something superficial? Or, are you scrutinizing your foundation? Intentional and honest investigation into the nature of your spiritual foundation will reveal much. If you need to make a repair then you must do it sooner than later.
There are a couple of ways for you to approach this. First, ask the Father to reveal what in your heart is not in alignment with Him. Psalm 139 finds David asking the Lord to search his heart and test his thoughts. This kind of inventory goes a long way toward building a foundation on unmovable ground. But don’t forget to be open, for God may use the Holy Spirit’s quiet conviction or the honest insight of a friend to expose what He wants you to see. This leads to the second thing for you to do—yield to Him. In another psalm—Psalm 86—David offers a helpful prayer; make it your own today: Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. Let your Lord have His way and your foundation will be unshakable.
CRACKS IN FOUNDATION?
I’ve ignored way too many cracks in my foundation in the past, and it is the worst thing one can do. Most often, it was in the first way you mentioned, by filling it with something superficial. Or by letting it go until that thing exploded into something bigger. This is an issue we cannot ignore as Christians. As usual, you have a way to getting to the deeper stuff. Thanks.