He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. Luke 6:48
I live in Tennessee and that means tornadoes. Our family is blessed to have a basement where we can go if it gets bad enough. Most towns have a shelter or will open school buildings or other public structures for citizens who don’t have a basement or other safe place to go.
Where do you go when there’s a storm?
For shelter from the storms of life, over and over the psalms picture God as a “strong tower,” a “refuge,” a safe place. James 4:8 tell us to draw near to God, and promises that God will draw near to us in response. If we picture that as running straight to our heavenly Father with whatever is troubling us, then God’s reaction is to run to meet us, wrapping His arms around us and saying, “What’s happened? What’s wrong, my child?”
This is certainly what we need to do when we face the metaphorical storms of life.
In this sense, the quote above, attributed to Chuck Swindoll, rings true.
When I ask people when they really grew spiritually, they never describe an easy time. Never.
But sometimes the storms of life cause a faith to crumble away. When Jesus talked about storms, he describes them as a testing, a proof as to whether we’ve built our house on the rock or on sand (Matthew 7:24ff). In Jesus’s analogy, what you do before the storm matters. It matters a lot.
I would argue that spiritual growth is felt when difficult times come, but it actually starts before that. You don’t build a house during a storm. You build it when skies are clear. Then when storms come, you’ll find out whether it’s strong enough to stand firm.
The Bible gives some instructions on how to grow spiritually. These are things we can choose to do at any time to draw near to God, and they’re probably easier to do when the weather of life is calm.
As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby. 1 Peter 2:2
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Ephesians 6:11
Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. Matthew 26:41
Thy word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin against Thee. Psalm 119:11 (KJV)
In quiet moments of prayer and meditation, it may not feel like much is happening. But it is. With consistency, that effort produces faith strong enough to withstand storms.
Perhaps Bible study and prayer don’t seem too exciting. Maybe part of us wishes that there was something more dramatic that we could do to draw near to God. Perhaps we want God to do something TO us— now that would be exciting!
But God has already taken the first step by offering His son to die as a ransom for our souls. It’s our turn. We are to draw near to Him, not just during storms, but daily.
Then, when trials do come, God’s word is not far from our minds. Our habit of prayer kicks in. Thoughts of God’s goodness are there. Not always immediately or constantly. The sorrow, the anger, the temptation are right there too. But those things must battle with all the good that has been stored up for “such a time as this.”
The church is also pictured as a house (1 Peter 2:5). It’s meant to be a safe place as well, and if you think about it, each Christian is to be both sheltered by it and to shelter others by being part of it.
Therefore encourage one another and build one another up. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (ESV)
Yes, hard times may drive us closer to God. For this reason we should not fear the storms of life. But don’t wait until then to start building your house on the Rock!
We CAN grow spiritually during “easy times.” Those times may not be as memorable and that growth may not be as noticeable, but when storms come, the payoff is huge.
Dear God, we pray that when trials come upon us, our faith will be strong enough for us to stand. Please help us to have the foresight to grow our faith when things are going well, to establish habits of prayer and praise that can tether us to You when the way gets rough. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
by Christie Cole Atkins
Related Reading:
Walk Worthy 