Every one of us, whether young or old, trust in something to make us happy. For some it could be about money, relying on the assurance that they have a stable bank account to fall back on. For others it could be their health, throwing themselves into exercise programs to get their bodies into a reliable condition that they can depend on. I'm sure many would say they place their trust in people who love them, having confidence that they will be there for them when times get tough.
However, every single one of those foundations are fragile, crumbling swiftly and without warning. Your source of employment can vanish, or unexpected, sizable expenses can drain your bank account. An illness or injury can rob you of the energy and vitality that was once coursing through your body. And we all know our loved ones aren't perfect. They can annoy us, disappoint us, or even wrong us. What can we do in such a transient world in which everything material that we tend to put our trust in vanishes so quickly?
The best place to turn when you realize that, is to the arms of God, who the Bible sometimes refers to as The Rock. "Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal" (Isaiah 26:4). A rock is a strong, firm foundation upon which you can plant your foot confidently. Even more than that, God, loving and eternal, will never change. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). That reassuring fact means that when we remember the love God and His Son Jesus Christ have shown us in the past, we can be sure that He will continue to love us.
I have received a deep and steadfast love from Him, especially when I trust in Him. He has shown his grace and mercy to me, revealing his true nature. "Truly He is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will never be shaken" (Psalm 62:2). As long as I don't fail to remember who I know Him to be, I can call out to him confidently whenever I am in need. "From the ends of the earth I call to you; I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the Rock that is higher than I" (Psalm 61:2).
When we are led to the Rock, we ought to build our lives on the eternal, immovable foundation we find there. It is a secure, trustworthy place that can support us through the fiercest storms of life.
Recall the famous parable told by Jesus about building a house on a stable foundation. “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).
Jesus Christ, God in human likeness, said this at the end of a series of teachings on what the behavior of true believers should look like. At the end of the 7th chapter of Matthew, it says the crowd who heard this message was amazed at the authority and power of his preaching. In the light of that, we should indeed put His words into practice, knowing we can trust in the truth of Jesus' words.
Furthermore, let us not only build our house on the Rock, but let's make sure we don't move our house back onto the shifting sands of what this world has to offer. "Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life" (Jude 1:21).
To paraphrase Hebrews 6:11, let us remain diligent for however long God permits us to live on the Earth, in order for us to receive all the good things He has promised us in the life to come.
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