Jesus said that a person’s obedience to His teachings determine whether his life will be built upon a solid rock foundation or upon a shifting foundation of sand, which really offers no foundation during life’s storms. James wrote that we are to be doers of God’s word, not merely hearers of it. These sections of Scripture reveal to us that the Lord indeed has given us the guarantee that, by active faith in Him, we will be able to withstand the storms and trials of life.
Storms are inevitable, as is the temptation to do evil. Now, being in a storm doesn’t necessarily mean that we’ve sinned and are consequently being “punished”, although that’s often how the world interprets it. Nor is being tempted a sin in itself. But these things prove that we live in a spiritual “war zone” and daily need to take up and put on the whole armor of God. By the proper application of God’s word in our lives we can be confident that having done all that we were commanded, we will stand!
Thus, an obedient faith is a victorious faith, not just some of the time, but every time because that kind of faith does not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Our single responsibility during life’s storms is to respond by faith to God’s words of promise (for example, Romans 8:28 and Jeremiah 29:11), instead of reacting to the circumstances. This is possible as we purpose to live holy lives, keep ourselves pure, and live in the constant reality of the presence of God.
When in your next storm or crisis of temptation, ask yourself this: “Will what I am about to say or do amount to rock, or sand?” In other words, is your response based upon faith in a rock-solid God, or in someone or something else? You’ll find as you weather the storms and temptations of life that only God’s grace is all-sufficient. This grace also provides the opportunity to replace the sand of the past with the rock of the present if we confess our sin and begin doing things God’s way.
So saints, allow the Holy Spirit to empower you today in the inner man, thus enabling you to build a rock-like faith to the glory of Jesus.
