May 1, 2000
Andy Smith

Word:

I will show you what everyone who comes to me, hears what I say, and obeys it is like. He is like a person who dug down to bedrock to lay the foundation of his home. When a flood came, the floodwaters pushed against that house. But the house couldn't be washed away because it had a good foundation. The person who hears what I say, but doesn't obey it is like someone who built a house on the ground without any foundation. The floodwaters pushed against it, and that house quickly collapsed and was destroyed.

Luke 6:47-49

Thought:

This classic parable from which Sunday School songs have been inspired applies heavily to our lives. In it, Jesus instructs us to not only hear what he teaches, not only to carry his teachings with us where ever we go, but to completely build our very existence on it. Only when the Lord is at the core of our life are we able to be at peace. Does that mean that nothing will ever go wrong and all will be peachy keen in your life from the day you take Jesus as your savior until the day you die? Absolutely not! Floodwaters are guaranteed to push you. Things are gonna go like absolute crap sometimes, but if God is your foundation, if you put your trust in him knowing that He is the core of your being, the floods will cede.

On the other side of the coin—if the Lord is absent in your life, if you build your life on something or someone other than Him—money, power, unhealthy friendships, drug addictions, anything but the Lord—you'll get washed away in life's floods. You might not think so at first, but your spirit will be eroded away bit by bit. Little things will start to drag you down. You'll become more and more agitated by small things. You'll start to question what it is you're working for. Without Christ at the center of our lives, we are worthless.

Prayer:

Father, I come before You now realizing that I am nothing without You as my rock. I beg of You, Father, help me to cling to You as I walk through this world. Help me to remember that when my existence revolves around You, I will not be washed away by life's trials and tribulations. Help me to stay focused on Your Light from now until forever. Help me to remember that—even when things look really, really bad, and life's floods threaten to wash me away—with You as my rock and foundation, that I can endure anything. Lord, I praise Your most high name.

Amen