Anyone living in South Carolina would vividly remember hurricane Hugo. I am old enough that I also remember Hazel in 1954 that killed 1000 in Haiti, 95 in the USA, and 81 in Canada. All we could do when these storms hit was hunker down, listen to the wind howl, feel the house shake, and wait. We also prayed a lot. Nothing could hasten nature back to calm. I have gone through other hurricanes with less wind and moved through quickly. Both Hugo and Hazel were enormous storms and travelled at their own pace. For Hazel there were no satellite images or any way of knowing what direction it was heading or how long it would last. I was in elementary school. We lived in an old mill house only 60 miles from the coast where the eye came ashore. A few days later, Dad took us to the coast—no roadblocks in those days. I still have a vivid picture etched in my mind of houses floating in the water, resembling giant fishing corks. The other scene I remember is there was no indication any one had ever built houses there— just bare sand.
Spiritual storms are similar. Some come and go quickly. Yet, others are large and seem as if they will never end. Paul said we must take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm. . . (Eph 6:13, 14). The word for stand was a military term that meant taking a stand of victory. A modern day paraphrase could be, having done everything you can do, hunker down as a victor.
The Holy Spirit reminded me of these hurricanes when I was studying Jesus’ parable of two houses with two different foundations. One man built his house on sand. When a storm hit, nothing remained—just bare sand. Some falsely teach that Christians with enough faith will not go through such storms. However, scripture says, it is not a matter of ‘if’ but when. I have no desire of leaving my lifelong home of South Carolina. At the same time, I know hurricanes will again hit our coast. All I can do is stay ready.
We are all builders, constructing our lives, families, and even our belief systems. For the past year, we have been in a storm that feels the size of Hazel and Hugo combined. Jesus’ metaphor speaks of “rain”, “floods”, “streams”, and “winds”. In other words, the storm was coming from every direction by every means, rains from above, floods and streams from below and winds from the sides. This well describes our past year. The storm has hit us from every direction. Some days I have felt that nothing was left of my structure. This storm has even shaken (not destroyed) areas of my belief system.
Last week, the Holy Spirit brought me to this parable and reminded me, even if this storm blew away everything I had built, that I had built on the Rock, Jesus. I have seen homes that have been devastated by storms and all that remained was an unaffected slab of concrete. Yes, the owners had to rebuild, but laying a new foundation was unnecessary.
For us, we are still hunkering down, listening to the wind howl, feeling the house shake, and waiting. We also pray a lot. I really did not want to be this transparent. But, the LORD reminded me, some of you are in your own storms, far larger and more intense than ours. You do not have a spiritual satellite image or know how much longer before it passes. This storm has shaken you down to your core. If you have built your life on the Rock, just keep hunkering down. The storm will pass and you will come forth stronger. Even though some may have built on the sand, it is not too late to lay a new foundation on Jesus. The storm may damage your structure, but with a new solid foundation, He will help you rebuild a better life.
Sustaining Word for the Week:
You may think your storm will never end. All storms do end. Hunker down as a victor and cling to your foundation—Jesus the Rock.