“When the whirlwind passes by, the wicked is no more, but the righteous has an everlasting foundation.” – Proverbs 10:25
In Matthew 7:24-27 and Luke 6:47-49, Jesus tells the story of the wise and foolish builders who chose very different foundations on which to build their houses. In Matthew’s account, Jesus says: “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall” (Matthew 7:24-27). There is an important comparison in this passage between those who practice Jesus’s sayings and those who never internalize them. Both the builders had good houses, but only one had a strong foundation. That made all the difference when life’s trials came.
How, then, do we build on a strong foundation? Luke’s account of the parable of the builders tells us how: coming to Jesus, hearing His sayings, and doing them (Luke 6:47). Coming to Jesus requires surrender. It means recognizing that He is “a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation” (Isaiah 28:16). It means understanding that He is the only Rock upon which we can build our lives. Hearing His sayings is important, but it is in doing and applying them that we find profit. In Hebrews, the author distinguishes between those who heard the gospel and those who heard it and also had the faith to obey. For those who only heard it, “the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed” (Hebrews 4:2, NIV). Hearing and actively applying God’s words to our lives requires obedience to follow the instructions written in His word, even if it goes against culture, our feelings, and our intellect. We can search for wisdom and footing in different places, but when they are not founded upon Scripture, they are inconsistent and shifting. In constantly changing times, and when the unpredictable winds and rain beat against the house of our life, we need to be fixed on the words that will never pass away, even when heaven and earth do (Matthew 24:35). Understanding this gives us insight into what it takes to build our house on the firm foundation of the word of God.
Building your foundation takes intentionality. In Luke 6:48, the one who hears Jesus’s sayings and does them is compared to a man who, when building his house, “dug deep and laid the foundation.” Whereas, the man who built his house without a foundation, “heard and did nothing.” It is much more convenient to do nothing and hope that your foundation is good enough. However, that is not what the Bible calls us to do. We are called to dig deep— to be “rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving” (Colossians 2:7). In order to prosper and flourish, God commands us to meditate on His word “day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it” (Joshua 1:8). This involves rearranging schedules, shifting our priorities, and checking our hearts. Are we intentionally seeking to build our house on the right foundation? The deeper we dig, the stronger our foundation will be.
Building your foundation takes time and effort. Neither the wise man nor the foolish man built their house overnight. But the wise man spent most of his time and effort digging deep and securing his foundation. In the same way, a wise Christian spends time building a strong foundation before adding anything else. Making sure our foundation is deep and strong takes time in God’s presence and in His word. But unlike the frustration that can come with building a house, building our spiritual foundation should be a source of delight. Psalm 1:2 tells us this: “But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night.” Are we dedicating time to the Lord and investing in our foundation? He desires to have a deeper relationship with us and strengthen our foundation in Him. When we take the time to draw nearer to God, He will draw near to us (James 4:8).
Building your foundation takes faith. When the builders had finished their houses, they encountered vehement storms. There was rain, flooding, and wind that battered both houses equally. Yet the one that was on the rock did not fall, while the one on the sand immediately fell, “and the ruin of that house was great” (Luke 6:49). All the time, effort, and intention put into these houses were tested by events that the builders could not control, resulting in either ruin or reward. When we invest our time into knowing God through His word and developing a deeper relationship with Him, we have nothing to fear when trials and tests come our way. The rain and wind may be boisterous, but when we keep our eyes on Jesus, we don’t sink (Mark 14:30-31). When we are building, we need to be “confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). When troubling situations arise and test our foundation, we can “count it all joy…knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience” (James 1:2-3). Are we trusting that God will keep us firm and secure when our lives are founded on Him?
Being a wise builder should be our goal. 2 Timothy 2:19 says this: “Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are His.’” Building on the right foundation is essential, and the Bible tells us exactly how to do it. Making God’s word a priority in your life is a choice that you can never regret—it gives you a firm foundation to cling to and reveals the life of delight that comes with walking with Him. God calls us to be intentional in our walk with Him, to take time to study His word, to put effort into being a wise builder, and to have faith in Christ, the cornerstone. May we take care to dig deeper each and every day. When the storms of life undoubtedly come, may we be ready to declare: “On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand: all other ground is sinking sand; all other ground is sinking sand” (Edward Mote, My Hope is Built on Nothing Less).
Written by NBB Alumna: Annelisa Stephen
