“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 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.” (Matthew 7:24-27;NLT)
We all know that it is essential to build a house on a firm foundation. Even if you are not a builder or a construction worker, you know that a solid foundation is vital.
So if in the construction world, a structure needs a firm foundation, our faith in God needs a firm foundation.
How do we build that foundation of faith?
“Serve only the Lord your God and fear him alone. Obey his commands, listen to his voice, and cling to him” (Deuteronomy 13:4; NLT)
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” (Proverbs 3:5-6;NLT)
Serving, obeying, clinging, and trusting in God is how we can build our solid foundation. Faithfully, studying His Word and applying it to our lives equips us in the process.
In James 1:22-23 it states,
“But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror.”
We have to apply His Word to build our firm foundation.
How do we apply His Word?
First, we must read His Word to know what it says. Second, we have to obey what God tells us to do in His Word.
For example, putting God first in our lives, loving others, forgiving one another, sharing the gospel to everyone, and being kind to others.
The list of what God commands us to do goes on and on. When we obey Him, we are abiding in Him.
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love” (John 15:5-10; KJV)
When we cling to the Lord, we are pulling close to Him. How do we cling to the Lord?
We can seek Him with our whole heart. Spend time with Him in His Word. Pray consistently for His guidance in our life. So when we obey and cling to Him, serving becomes a part of our daily lives.
As we develop and grow our relationship with the Lord, our foundation in Him grows stronger and stronger. Then when the rains and winds come, our foundation that is built in the Lord, will not be moved.
Our foundation starts with God’s word and continues with our faithful obedience to live it out.
