Rest is always good for me because I usually am going 90 to nothing constantly. However, after being in bed for 24 hours, I am ready to be up and going again. Thankfully, the Lord knew I needed this time with Him.
This week I've been reading through the book of Matthew. It's one of those books I honestly do not frequent because it is full of the familiar stories you grow up hearing about. I suppose as I've gotten older I have come to think I know everything ;) Oh, how wrong I can be! God has definitely been setting me back in my seat this week as He has revealed himself in new ways through familiar stories about Jesus preaching, performing miracles, and calling the people around Him to come to Him. My husband likes to remind me often that this is the process of sanctification. What a beautiful process of sanctification it has been this week!
Since I have been stuck in bed for the past 24 hours, I was able to pick up Matthew and continue rereading again today without having a reason to stop. It has been nice to have no reason to look at the clock and no reason to rush. With this free time I stumbled upon such a familiar passage in a brand new way. I was overwhelmed with joy at the way the words jumped off the page in such a new, brilliant light. You are probably also very familiar with this passage. It is a popular one in Children's church. There is even a catchy song to go along with it that will stick to your brains and never let you forget. You know...
"The wise man built his house upon the rock, the wise man built his house upon the rock, the wise man built his house upon the rock and the rains came tumbling down! Oh, the rains came down, and the floods went up! The rains came down and the floods went up! The rains came down and the floods went up and the wise man's house stood firm!"
Today, however, instead of the passage causing my mind to dance around in glee, singing the song that never leaves, I was struck with a much more urgent and serious feeling.
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against the house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."--Matthew 7:24-27
We all know this parallel, we have all sang the song and performed the motions in children's church, we've all come to a basic understanding of this concept: build your life on a firm foundation, not something that will fail. But reading it again today revealed something a little deeper to me.
Jesus offers Himself to every person on this planet. Scripture tells us in 1 Timothy that God desires to see all saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. Sadly, there are two groups of people in life--the group who accepts, believes, and trusts Jesus and the group who denies, ignores, and tries to live independently of Jesus. However, these verses in Matthew paint a picture of a promise for both groups: the rains will come down, the streams will rise and try to overtake, and the winds will blow and threaten stability. It's going to happen for both groups of people. Both groups will experience the storms of life. The person who accepts, believes, and trusts Jesus will not be exempt from the storms simply because he has chosen Truth. The difference between the two will be the outcome. One will stand and one will fall. Both will experience struggle, heartache, and difficulty. But both will come to different ends. The one who trusts will be protected, he will be sustained, he will be showered with grace, he will be held up by a power far beyond understanding "because [he] had [his] foundation on the rock"(Matt. 7:25). The other will endure similar storms and hardships, but will be crushed under the burdens he was never intended to carry. Amazing. Horrifying, yet amazing.
Why do we intentionally face that crushing? Why do we intentionally choose to ignore when we already know what the outcome will be? It's like looking into a magic ball and being able to know the future, yet not doing anything about it. I am so guilty of this. I know what my life will look like if I do not spend my time earnestly seeking and chasing after Jesus--dark, gloomy, and destroyed. Yet many times I choose to run after other things rather than build up my firm foundation. The Lord filled me up today with this reminder--the storms of this life are always coming. The clouds are filling and the thunder is rolling. Will I stand or fall? Will you stand or fall? It is our choice to make.
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