Digging Deep

 

“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've heard and seen this story played out many times in children's Bible videos and at Sunday school, but I have to admit I never noticed the part that says the man "dug deep" and laid the foundation on the rock. It's not enough to build a wooden hut on top of the rock, the house has to be attached to the rock at its foundation.

This lead me to research a little about how you build on solid rock. In one article the writer talked about how his soon-to-be new neighbors were blasting out portions of the rock so they could lay the foundation. These were his comments:

"You have to want to build badly if you decide to go to all this trouble to blast solid rock. First and foremost, blasting is expensive. Two previous owners of the lot, which sits above mine, went bankrupt trying to prepare the site for a house. They ran out of money and sold the land to the next person in line. Apparently, the current landowner has much deeper pockets, as the blasting is complete, and he’s about to pour a footing."

- Tim Carter 

How many Christians go bankrupt trying to build on the Rock because their pockets weren't deep enough? How deep are my pockets? How deep are yours? 

For that last several years I have found myself repeatedly asking the question, why does everything have to be so hard and so difficult? This isn't to say I don't have joy in my life, but the narrow way has proven to be a slow trudge through the mud for me recently. But maybe it's not a "trudge through the mud" it's breaking rocks.

Perhaps you have a little cottage on the Rock. You "dug deep" laid the foundation and have weathered your share of storms in that little house. I was happy in my cottage, but every time I turn around the Lord has a new blue print in His hands and that happy I-am-about-to-build-something look in His eyes. The cottage was a fine start, but He has visions for additions! 

Really? Another one? Why can't we just sit back in a lawn chair and sip lemonade while we take a minute to admire the big house we already have? 

I always envisioned my little cottage on the edge of a cliff by the sea and I lived there alone. But Strong's showed me otherwise in its definition of the word "house" in Luke 6:48.

G3624; properly, residence (abstractly), but usually (concretely) an abode (literally or figuratively); by implication, a family (especially domestics):—home, house(-hold).

A family, a household. Yes, we each build our personal relationship with the Lord that's uniquely and intimately our own. But we also provide a home, shelter and a foundation for others.

Those from among you

Shall build the old waste places;

You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;

And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach,

The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.

Isaiah 58:12

I signed up for the long haul and the Lord is the tailor of my pants, so I have no excuse about the depth of my pockets since they are His. Some days, some seasons will feel like you are breaking rocks. But when I start to feel disheartened at the pain and toil I can look to Isaiah 58 for encouragement. "You shall raise up the foundations of many generations." 

The Lord is not picking on us or some kind of mad scientist trying to see how much pressure He can put on us before we snap. No, he has a vision, a purpose beyond what we can see from our vantage point. 

Dear Father, give me the grace and the patience for what I cannot understand. And the innocent confidence of a child in Your faithfulness and love for me. Amen.

When the whirlwind passes by, the wicked is no more, But the righteous has an everlasting foundation. 

Proverbs 10:25

*Ask the Builder: The challenges of building on solid rock