The Storm Came. Now What?

The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my Savior (2 Samuel 22:2-3)

Climate change is one of the major hot-button issues that dominate our current conversations. So, it is not surprising that 11-year-old Essie from Michigan asked the question, “If humans went extinct, what would the Earth look like one year later?” In response, Iowa State University urban design professor Carlton Basmajian gave several examples of what would happen. Yet he said the first thing wouldn’t be visible with our eyes but with our ears. “The world would be quiet. And you would realize how much noise people make. Our buildings are noisy. Our cars are noisy. Our sky is noisy. All of that noise would stop.”

“In a thousand years, the world you remember would still be vaguely recognizable. Some things would remain; it would depend on the materials they were made of, the climate they’re in, and just plain luck. An apartment building here, a movie theater there, or a crumbling shopping mall would stand as monuments to a lost civilization. The Roman empire collapsed more than 1,500 years ago, yet you can see some remnants even today.”

Dr. Basmajian summarized his article by writing, “If nothing else, humans suddenly vanishing from the world would reveal something about the way we treated the Earth. It would also show us that the world we have today can’t survive without us and that we can’t survive if we don’t care for it. To keep it working, civilization—like anything else—requires constant upkeep.”

Jesus closed out his Sermon on the Mount with a challenge to build their lives on His words long before the storms of life came. “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” Matthew 7:24-27

Both men in Jesus’ illustration experienced the same torrential rains, flooding, and hurricane winds. Both men had a chance to build a house. Both men had access to the materials needed to build a strong house. Both men knew about the storms that came up in the area. Jesus didn’t offer an easy way out because he knew that the storms would come eventually in their lives regardless of what or how they lived.

Yet Jesus offered them hope that if they built the right foundation, which only he could give, they would be safe. One of the men chose wisely, the other man decided to take the easy path. Jesus knew it would be easier to build on soft soil since it didn’t require a lot of effort but he also knew it wouldn’t provide a place of safety. Jesus understood that digging into hard rock would be laborious and difficult work, yet only a house built on a good foundation could survive life storms.

If you walk into a house that doesn’t have a good foundation, you will find cracks running up the walls and doors that don’t close easily. In the same way, Jesus knew that a solid foundation for life was essential but he also knew you couldn’t wait and build during the storm. I haven’t heard of too many builders staying on site with a tornado bearing down on them, or construction workers on a high-rise building working with 120-mile gale force winds blowing through the structure. They all head for a place to hide from the storm.

Jesus didn’t just give a practical illustration of building theory. He was only interested in you and making sure you built your life on his foundation – a foundation that would be secure for a lifetime. Let’s face it, at one time or another we will all face the storms of life. Companies downsize and you find yourself without a job. Your body gets injured from a freak accident and you find yourself waking up in a hospital bed. You get that midnight call that a loved one died unexpectedly. Plus, if you live long enough, you will wake up old and need others to care for you.

You find yourself in the middle of the storm and finally ask, will my house stay together? Sandy-soil faith and building-in-the-storm faith doesn’t hold up well when facing hurricane-like storms of life events. Praying in the dark times for help is hard when you haven’t built a prayer life that grew in the bright sunny days of life. How can you trust God in the storms when you never took the time to get to know Him during those carefree and warm summer evenings?

Corrie ten Boom and her sister Betsie endured the storms of a Nazi concentration camp, harassment, and persecution yet they had built a house on solid rock. Before Betsie died, she told Corrie, “There is no pit so deep that He (God) is not deeper still.” Until a series of strokes finally took Corrie’s life many years later, she never wavered because she had built a “house” on a solid foundation.

She had learned that “The object of your greatest pain can become the source of your greatest blessing when you offer it to God.” The storms will come, as they did for Corrie and her family. The house may shake and cause you to be afraid unless you have built a foundation of trust in God. Corrie understood that lesson and gave a practical example. “When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.”

Your local weather forecaster makes sure you have enough warning to get to safety. Jesus did the same for us. Not only did he give us adequate warning, he also made the place of safety, Himself. “True victory isn’t found when all your problems are finally over. True victory is when the problems are still there, but they have no control over you.” –Alicia Purdy

God is great!