Founded on the Rock
by Lynda Scott
My children have often sung the song ‘The wise man built his house upon the rock’. It’s a favourite song of my mother, Joan, as she wants to be sure that this ‘Seed of the Kingdom’ gets into my children’s hearts early. As great a song as it is it actually misses the first half of the sentence – ‘Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise’ So our wisdom isn’t coming from simply ‘building our house on the rock,’ but rather listening to the teachings of Jesus and following them or obeying them.
Life can be full of surprises. One day everything can be going along fine, then, in a day, our lives can tip upside down. It could be the unexpected loss of a member of our immediate family, loss of a job, discovering the unfaithfulness of a spouse or being diagnosed with a disease. For me it was an accident where I fell thirty five feet off a cliff. Life very literally tipped upside down in a day. I was quickly overwhelmed with one of life’s storms, a storm that felt like ‘torrents of rain, rising floodwaters and a howling gale of wind.’
But where was I founded before the accident? That’s the question. I had already set my heart to listening and obeying the teachings of Jesus. So although I fell into rocks in a river bed, I wasn’t crushed by them, because, in fact, I was founded on the Rock - Jesus. I had made Him the foundation of my life. So although the road ahead wasn’t easy, He brought me through. In hindsight I look back and see the incredible things that Jesus brought out of that terrible accident, the least of which was my miraculous healing a couple of years later.
So the challenge today is to consider where your foundation is. Are you listening to the teachings of Jesus regularly (maybe in a local Christian church), and then applying them in your life? Are you seeking to live for Jesus, and glorify Him in your life? Yes, storms may well come. I’ve had many. However, if you’re founded on the Rock, you won’t fall in the face of life’s storms. You probably would rather your storm hadn’t come. But, if you continue to trust Jesus in the midst of it, you’ll find He’ll bring extraordinary blessings out of your suffering.
Prayer: Dear Jesus, I’m so glad You’re the Rock which You invite me to build my life on. I pray You’ll help me to listen to Your teachings and obey them, so You’ll make me into a person who’s wise. Then whenever life’s storms come my foundation will be right, and You’ll bring me through whatever it is I have to face. I put my trust in You. In your name, Amen.
Lynda Scott was first introduced to Ellel Ministries at a conference led by Peter and Fiona Horrobin in 1996 when she was miraculously healed following a devastating accident. Lynda has continued her association with Ellel Ministries over the years and has recently written her story “Lynda: From Accident & Trauma to Healing & Wholeness.” She lives in Australia with her husband Leigh and 3 children, who are all at school. She works in a local health clinic, as well as helping her husband with the administration of their beef cattle farm.
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