46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? 47 Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.[a] 49 But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.” Luke 6:46-49 (ESV)
In life it is not a question of will the floods come, but when. And in the above passage, Jesus is using a metaphor describing torrential floods, and their destruction. We can apply this same thought to the trials and tribulations of life. All of us from time to time will have stressful and trying times as we live out our lives. The trials can be for us, a family member, friends, school, jobs, etc. So, knowing we will have trying times or “floods”, we need to prepare our hearts and minds for when this happens.
As God states in the verses above, those who listen to Him and obey His teachings and commandments will be fortified. By trusting and believing through faith that God will keep His promises, they are building solid foundations.
As we look at Luke 6:48, Jesus made a point in saying, “when” the floods come. He did not say “if”. That being the case, we are encouraged to seek to strengthen our hearts, our minds, and our faith; so that when trouble comes to our doorstep, we will be able to withstand it.
Likewise, in Luke 6:49, Jesus warns against those who do not listen to His teachings. They feel they can do what they want with their lives, and end up making choices and decisions, contrary to His word. In so doing, when the “floods of life” come, their house will fall. When this happens, this person can still turn and come back to God. They can choose to live their life according to His ways. That is a conscious decision all of us have to make every day. The decision to follow God and build our house (our life) on a solid foundation, based on His principles and precepts. Or we can choose to go against God and follow what the world says is acceptable.
My prayer is that we all choose to build our house on a solid foundation using God’s word and precepts. That we will choose to establish a life of prayer and Bible study. That we will frequently ask ourselves this question: “When the storms come, am I ready?”
Blessings,
Angélique
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