Daily Devotions
“And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” Matthew 7:26-27
I don’t live on Soledad Mountain Road; most of you don’t either. If you don’t live on Soledad Mountain Road, you can be thankful. Today, if nothing goes right for you, when you crawl into bed tonight, you can still thank the Lord you don’t live on Soledad Mountain Road.
Don’t get me wrong, Soledad Mountain Road, which runs through the California community of La Jolla, is a nice place, filled with wonderful people and million dollar homes. Even so, I’m glad I don’t live there.
Two weeks ago officials warned people the ground was shifting underneath their community. Then, just a few days ago, things let loose. Power lines went down, a gas pipe ruptured, water mains broke and numerous trees snapped as the earth groaned and started a slow avalanche. The toll on effected homes is this: One home is gone; nine homes have been red-tagged, which means nobody can go in them, and twenty-seven are yellow-tagged, which means people can come back to pick up some essentials, but they can’t stay.
A retired professor from the area summed things up when he said, “It’s a geologically bad site and should not have been built on to begin with.”
Jesus came to roughly the same conclusion as that geologist when He spoke about and gave warning to people who build their lives on the shifting stuff of life. The Savior wanted people to realize that even when everything about you may look good, if your foundation is shaky, everything can and will come rumbling out from underneath you.
Now, I certainly feel sorry for the folks who live on Soledad Mountain Road. Although no lives were lost, they have still suffered a tragedy from which it is going to take a great deal of time and effort to recover.
But I feel far more sorry for those folks who wrongly believe things like fame, wealth, prestige, and power can give them lasting satisfaction. Those things can’t, don’t, and won’t do that.
This is why I would like you to join with me in praying for all those folks whose lives have been built on shifting sand. Let us ask the Lord to send His Holy Spirit to warn and lead them to relocate their lives on the solid foundation of their Savior Jesus Christ.
THE PRAYER: Dear Heavenly Father, watch over those who have lost their homes in California. Just as importantly, I pray for those who will find that the foundation of their lives is slippery, sliding stuff. Lead them so their lives, their hopes, their tomorrows may be built on Jesus. In the Savior’s Name. Amen.