My grandparents used to take me to church when I visited…I still have very vivid memories of that time, some lessons I understood fully, some took time to sink in…one thing that strikes me now, is how much I enjoyed the odd little songs…that I sort of got the point of…but now, after hearing them ‘o’re & o’re’. The scriptures from which they came…speak much louder…with each and every reading…Remember this one?
Some Sunday School teachers would make the ‘SPLAT’ part of that song a little fun, which…looking back now, is a little twisted…so, yea…don’t do that…let’s don’t take joy in other people’s calamities…
The Wise Man Built His House
The wise man built his house upon the rock
The wise man built his house upon the rock
The wise man built his house upon the rock
And the rain came tumbling down
Oh, the rain came down
And the floods came up
The rain came down
And the floods came up
The rain came down
And the floods came up
And the wise man’s house stood firm.
The foolish man built his house upon the sand
The foolish man built his house upon the sand
The foolish man built his house upon the sand
And the rain came tumbling down
Oh, the rain came down
And the floods came up
The rain came down
And the floods came up
The rain came down
And the floods came up
And the foolish man’s house went “splat!” [clap hands once]
So, build your house on the Lord Jesus Christ
Build your house on the Lord Jesus Christ
Build your house on the Lord Jesus Christ
And the blessings will come down
Oh, the blessings come down
As your prayers go up
The blessings come down
As your prayers go up
The blessings come down
As your prayer go up
So build your house on the Lord Jesus Christ
And, then, there’s what I consider the adult version of the song, written in 1863, but no less poignant today…
My Hope is Built on Nothing Less
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus Christ, my righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.
2
When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.
3
His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.
4
When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found;
In Him, my righteousness, alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.
Edward Mote, 1863, Public Domain
So, what does it all mean? For, me oddly, this one all made sense, at ever level…at every stage of development…just, obviously, at different comprehension points…
Today, I join it together with scripture. And it means that we simply must let the words of our Lord and Savior deep into our hearts. To learn them, to LIVE them, to make them the foundation of our very being. From our first to our last breath…and the promise that comes with that…is that He WILL hold us up…he WILL carry us through…our darkest hours, our brightest hours, and even those hours in between…the ones that we often feel that no one sees…because they aren’t big enough, or tough enough, or important enough…but it is often those in between times that can truly test our souls…
Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Everyone wh comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will hsow you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deap and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream brok against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. but the one who hears and does not do them is like the man who bulit a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the run of that house was great.
Luke 6:46-49, ESV.
It’s easy to praise God when things are good, especially so when things are amazing…as long as we don’t forget from whom those blessings pour…and don’t rest our own…
It’s also (for me, anyway) easy to pour our souls into God and Prayer when times are at their lowest and darkest…for He can be our only solace…this isn’t a post about particular sorrows…we all have them, or have had, or will have them…and they are different for each of us…and, sometimes, we find a soul to connect with on this earth that helps carry us through…those, I believe, are sent by God to keep us from falling into the darkness. Whether or not we clasp on to them is the choice we must make. I digress…it’s never been hard for me to pour my soul into prayer and just keep moving at those dark moments…does that mean I never fall apart? Of course not…I fall into a puddle, lock myself up for hourse/days, scream, wail, bawl…all of the things…but I’ve always been able to just pull through…with a strength that I can only credit to God. Some would even see it as callous and unfeeling…I assure it is not…
But what about those in between days? The ones that are just…meh…the ones where you have things to do … but nothing really “pressing”…no fires to put out, no one to rescue…no holidays…no special events…no birthdays…just a meh kind of day…
When you didn’t quite get all the things done…
When your ‘people’ are too busy to sit with you or chat with you for a while…
When your special someone is ghosting you… (SO glad I don’t have to deal with that! Seriously, I pray for y’all. Be kind. Be brave. Be better.)
When you can’t handle all things on your plate…
When you know you maybe should’ve, could’ve, would’ve…but you didn’t…
When you REALLY wanted to…but you LITERALLY just COULD NOT do that thing…
When you realize your the last one standing (maybe siblings, friends, classmates, coworkers? I dunno…lots of applications here…)…
Those days can be the hardest…those days are the ones where we have to really choose what we do with our time. Nothing? Rest? Chat? Shop? Read? Binge watch? Visit family? Send Cards? Get caught up or AHEAD on projects? Walk the dog? Send some cards? So many possibilities…
And so often, it’s easy to just…do…nothing…accomplish nothing…feed our souls nothing…give nothing…send nothing…clean nothing…look at nothing….
Now, don’t misread…we all need NOTHING days…days of rest, and healing… it’s actual biblical, and there’s really something to it…Rest matters. But, rest doesn’t have to be NOTHING.
I would challenge to spend a little time each day – whether it is just for a moment, or ten minutes…or even an hour…doing something that make your foundation stronger. That may be as simple as listening to some praise and worship music, or reading ‘the verse of the day,’ I mean REALLY reading…beyond the little pop up notification…
The question to ask ourselves, is are we truly grounded enough to get through the day to day? How about the darkness? Where are your turning for guidance and help? For assurance? For support?
What happens when the rains come down?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic. What are your struggles? What are your strengths? Where are you allowing God to hold you up?
My church is currently walking through the book of Luke, using a Scripture Journal. These can be used to take notes, or for journaling, or scripture writing. I have chosen to take sermon notes in the margins, and utilize the blank pages for scripture writing. Many of learn well by utilizing all of our senses. When I go back after the sermon message (or on my own with other texts), and write the scripture, I find myself much more focused on the scripture and am able to prayerful focus on what God is bringing to me through his words.
This is one of the Journal’s for the Book of Luke. I prefer this, just a personal preference, to those with blank covers.
http://bit.ly/LukeScriptureJournal
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