And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
Matt 7:24-26

There have been times in my life when my footing was not on solid rock, and I was easily tossed to and fro by whatever prevailing philosophy came along. This week while I’ve been walking (or trying to walk) along the beach, I’ve been thinking of this verse. The sand is so deceptive. At times it looks as if it’s solid and packed hard but it can fool me and suddenly the ground shifts beneath me. Thankfully, I’ve got good balance. But it’s one reason my 81 year old mother isn’t walking on the beach. I want to keep her safe. Because out there on the sandy shore, there may not be anything for her to cling to when the sand shifts beneath her or a wave rushes shore.




There are times in our lives when storms hit, when winds blow, driving rain pounds us, and lightning strikes. If we are out on the beach we’re in the danger zone. But if we have a rock, a solid faith to cling to, then we can make it through. I have experienced times in my life when all I had was my faith. When the winds finally died down and the sun peeked out from behind the clouds, I realized not only did I have a solid rock beneath me but also God sheltered me from the storm.

For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. Psalm 61:3




Are you in a storm now? Are you clinging to faith or struggling to find solid footing? Or maybe you’ve recently been through a storm. How did you withstand the winds and rains?

Labels: faith, shelter, shifting sand, sinking sand, storms of life, surviving storms of life, surviving trials