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.  – Matthew 7:25

This week has been quite a week . . . and it isn’t even half over yet.  It started off Sunday by absolutely feeling the glory of God in such a tangible way.  I couldn’t have asked for a better start.  By Tuesday afternoon, I saw just how destructive Satan and his demons can be in the lives of young people and families that don’t know God.  Sometimes things happen to me, and I cry “Why me?”  I can throw the quickest pity party.  Then I see things happen to others and quickly think, “man, things could be so much worse.” 

I am so glad that I have God as my foundation.  Recently, I saw a young woman who had just lost her boyfriend.  She was so crushed and felt such genuine despair that I could feel it too.  I felt so badly for her because I remember what that felt like . . . a couple of times.  The difference was that I always had Jesus and church to fall back on.  Thinking about it now, I hate that I used Him as a fallback, but I think that is the point of the story.  No matter what has happened in my life that crushed my spirit, I’ve always known that God was working in my life and had Romans 8:28 to keep things in ultimate perspective.  My will and God’s will so often just isn’t the same.  I felt for the young lady because I could tell she had no such foundation.  Her hopes and dreams were in this young man.  He was her foundation.  I thought, “a teenaged boy makes for a terrible foundation.”  In fact, any noun, other than Jesus, is a foundation made of sand.  Everything else is temporary . . . He is eternal.

The other day, I just wasn’t feeling the most spiritual.  I opened the “guided prayer” on the Bible app.  I just followed the prompts.  It did its job . . . it led me to the throne room of God.  But at the end, it asked me a question.  It asked, “What are you going to do to keep Jesus close throughout the day?”  I thought of how I haven’t been very close to Him throughout the past several days.  So, I made a plan.  I picked a couple of sermons to listen to, and I picked an old hymn along with a newer praise and worship song to listen to.  Instead of turning anything else on the tv or radio, I simply followed my plan. 

It worked!  By the end of the day, I was thanking and praising God because He had been ever so near to me for the entire day.

How awesome is the Rock of our foundation?

Lord, I’m thinking of a kid sitting in a Columbia prison right now who simply doesn’t have a clue about your transforming power.  He doesn’t know that you transform lives and give peace in the midst of storms.  I sure pray that You will send the right person to tell him about You, and I sure pray that he will listen.  Where would I be if You hadn’t come into my life at the exact same age?  Please do for him what you did for me!  Show him that there is a God in heaven who cares and grants eternal life.  Keep giving me peace amid my own storms.  I know it takes me longer than it should, but I always realize that on Christ the solid rock I stand, and that all other ground is sinking sand.  I pray for my own family, may the shield of faith block and extinguish all the flaming arrows that the enemy releases towards us.  I pray for the families of every person who took the time to read this little devotion this morning.  May You bless them, keep them, and make Your face to shine upon them.  Be gracious to them, Lord.  May Your countenance turn towards them . . . and give them peace.  Amen.