Built On Strength

Built on strength…Seeing these words written on a billboard one morning as I drove to work, made me smile. It took my mind to buildings and their foundations…

Jesus shared a story about two people who built houses on different foundations. One on a rock and one on sand. The test of the foundations came when the wind and rain came against the houses. The house on sand took an early bow but the house built on the rock withstood the elements that came against it.

The house on the rock was built on strength. The foundation was solid enough to keep the building standing in the wake of the storm. The house built on sand had no chance against the forces that assailed it.

Life is like that; the foundation we build determines how we fare in any storm.  The popular hymn puts it this way.

 “Will your anchor hold in the storms of life when the clouds unfurl their wings of flight, when the strong tides lift and the cables strain, will your anchor drift or firm remain?”

The foundation you build on determines the answer. If you build on sand or a hastily dug, shoddy foundation you may have the most beautiful and enviable looking edifice, but the storm will prove it’s worth.

But if you commit finances into a solid foundation with the right amount of concrete, quarry stones, etc. if you set your building on a rock, you can be sure that come wind, rain and hail, you can make it through the storm!

So, it’s clear that while the same conditions affected the two buildings, only one had the wherewithal to stand. The proof of a building lies in its foundation! Build on a strong foundation!

This applies to our lives as well, whether in marriage, business and other relationships or endeavours. For a solid marriage, you must build on strength. What foundation are you building your marriage on, is it a foundation of love and trust? Open and honest communication? Or is it built on lies and deceit? Such a relationship will crash when the deception is unraveled.  It’s the same for any organization or business; without a strong foundation, without systems and structures in place to govern their activities, they will not survive adversity.

The best foundation ever to build our lives on is Jesus Christ. I recommend Him to you. A relationship with Him is the surest foundation for our lives, our marriages, our homes, our business or vocation.

A life built on Christ is built on strength. That strength is founded on His Word and steeped in prayer and faith. That life will go through storms, that life will come under attack. But adversity will not collapse it. It will feel the turbulence of the wind, the lashing of the rain, but it will not crumble because it is upheld by the Word of God through faith.  It will stand as a testament to the Lord! When we put our trust in Jesus and choose to walk with Him, we have chosen to build our lives on strength. And with confidence in His strength we can respond to the hymn writer’s challenge with conviction.

“We have an anchor that keeps the soul, steadfast and sure while the billows roll, fastened to the rock which cannot move, grounded firm and deep in the Saviour’s love.”

 Building our lives on Christ Jesus means accepting Him as your Lord and Saviour and choosing to abide by His Eternal Word. It is only when we make this commitment and stick to it that we can enjoy the unshakable peace that comes from Him through life’s toughest storms.

Christ is the never-failing rock on which we can confidently build our lives. When we build on Him we are indeed built on strength and built to last – in time and for eternity!

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

(Matthew 7:24-26)

It’s good to have strong buildings but we must never forget that the strength of a building lies in its foundation! Build from bottom up, time will test your foundation in every area of your life! Let Christ be your Foundation!