John and Sandy had been planning to build a custom home for years. They dreamed, sketched ideas on napkins and scraps of paper, and poured over home plan websites. Sandy kept all these ideas in a file for that the day their dream would come true.
That day had finally arrived!
After putting aside all the money they didn’t absolutely need to survive, they had secured a construction loan. The architect, armed with all their ideas, had been working on the blueprints. In just a few minutes, John and Sandy would review the completed plans for their new home.
Sandy felt like a kid at Christmas she was so excited. Arriving at their contractor’s office, John and Sandy saw the house blueprints for the first time. The men’s voices faded as Sandy studied the blueprints.
She understood the basic look of the house from the front, but scanning through the other pages, she couldn’t picture the interior of their house. All she saw were shaded lines, arrows, and measurements. Nothing made sense.
Frustrated, she flipped to one of the back pages where she finally recognized something—the foundation. From all their research, she knew that without a firm, strong, and well-built foundation, their home would be unsafe.
In the Bible, Jesus taught about the importance of building on a strong foundation. As He commonly did, He told a parable—a quick story using common knowledge to explain a biblical truth—to help those listening understand His point.
“John decided to build their new family home. It had been his dream to live near the water. After months of searching, he and Sandy found a lot they could afford. The plans had been drawn, then finalized, and today was the day they were breaking ground.
The construction crew made the first cut with the backhoe for the foundation. John was almost giddy as he watched them work. About 40 feet down, they hit bedrock. Score! As the crew framed the supporting footers for the house, John knew that their home would be strongly supported.
Later that afternoon, as John and Sandy walked the waterfront, they noticed another new home going in about a mile away. How exciting! It looked like their foundation was already poured. But as John took the opportunity to inspect the foundation, curious to see how deep they had to go to hit bedrock, he noticed the footers were surrounded only by sand.
‘That’s not what I was expecting,’ he thought. ‘Maybe they’ve already back-filled around the footers.’
About a year later, John and Sandy watched the incoming storm from their family room windows. The weather reports were grim—75 mile an hour winds, driving rain and sleet, and a heavy storm surge if the winds were sustained long enough.
It turned out to be a long night—the worst-case scenario. But their house survived. John walked around the foundation to make sure there were no signs of leaks, or that the foundation had shifted.
A couple days later, after cleaning up the debris in their yard from the flood waters, once again John and Sandy walked the waterfront. There was the other new house…or at least what had been the new house. It was completely off the foundation, an imploded pile of windows, broken roof, and shattered walls.
Looking around at those listening, Jesus said, ‘My words are like this. If you apply them to your life, just like the one with the strong foundation, you’ll weather the storms of life well. If you don’t listen to my words and apply them, your life will be smashed just like the house on the sandy foundation.’” (Matthew 7:24-27)
How can you know your foundation is solid?
- Read the blueprint. The more time you spend reading and studying the Bible, the more you understand who Jesus is. You get to know Him. You learn about His character by studying His words and actions. You spend time in His presence. Think about all the people you “know.” How many would you classify as a friend or acquaintance? Now think about your immediate family. Would you say you “know” them the same way you “know” an acquaintance? I hope not. It’s the same way with Jesus. Knowing someone involves time spent in their presence, understanding what they love and don’t love, their hopes and dreams, their passions, and their personality.
- Apply what you know about Jesus to your life. While it’s important to the read the Bible, application is critical. I’ve read many books throughout my life. Probably thousands. But I can’t say I’ve applied something from every book I’ve read. I’ve simply gained knowledge or had a fun getaway in a novel. Until you apply something, it doesn’t become part of who you are. You know Jesus is your secure foundation when you apply His words to your life. Doing so enables you to weather the storms life throws at you.
- Communicate regularly with Jesus. Prayer is simply a conversation. You talk and you listen. It’s no more complicated than that. As you learn more about Jesus through time spent reading the Bible, you understand that He is concerned about your concerns and the activities of your day. The first time I knew my foundation was secure in Jesus was when I talked out loud to Him in the middle of a crisis. I recalled Bible passages I’d read and studied that directly applied to the current situation. I told Jesus how I felt about what was going on and asked Him to give me peace in the crisis. And He did.
Look through your blueprint for life. Starting with your foundation, is it built solidly on Jesus? If you aren’t sure, would you find a Bible and read the book of John? It’s the best place I know to get to know Jesus. If you don’t have a Bible, let me know. I’ll send you one.
Live your legacy today,
Kirsten D. Samuel
Aftershock Recovery Coach
8-week Program, Custom-paced Coaching, Remote or In-person Sessions
Great post, Kirsten! Very encouraging.