September 22, 2015
…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. Matthew 7:24-25
Strong foundations are vitally important if a structure is to remain standing during a significant storm. This was illustrated when Ike, a Category 4 hurricane with winds up to 143 miles per hour almost destroyed Galveston, Texas, in 2008.
Not long after the hurricane swept through, one picture surfaced that caught the world’s attention. It revealed a yellow house that was standing almost unscathed in the midst of miles of coastal rubble. Investigators determined that the house had been damaged in an earlier storm so that the owners had rebuilt it to hurricane standards. When Ike unleashed its fury, the house remained standing when everything around it was flattened.
Storms may sweep through our lives. Not just environmental storms, but emotional, spiritual, physical, or financial storms can suddenly erupt with no advance warning. On August 17, 2015, a hurricane-force storm swept through my life when I discovered my husband of forty-nine years unresponsive in our swimming pool. If I had not already established a strong foundation of faith for my life, I would have imploded like the majority of houses in Galveston. Instead, I stood firm on the foundation of faith I had laid years ago—a foundation I have been strengthening ever since through reading, studying, applying, and living out God’s Word. And that foundation carried me through the subsequent days that included my husband’s time on life support, his death, his funeral, and his burial.
I have received an outpouring of cards, letters, phone calls, emails, flowers, food, and thoughtful gifts. I have been saturated in prayer and words of blessing. Friends and family have surrounded and upheld me. While I am deeply humbled and will forever be grateful, I know that underneath it all, what is carrying me through is my foundation of faith in God.
The storm of my husband’s unexpected death has not shattered my life. While the grief is deep, the loneliness is real, the emotions ebb and flow like the waves of the sea, I have not collapsed. Like the yellow house, I have remained standing not only for my own well-being, but also for the well-being of others. For one reason. I know God. I have developed a relationship with Him that is built on the foundation of faith in His Word. I know He was, He is, and He will be in absolute control, working everything out for my good and for His eternal purpose. He said so. (Romans 8:28) I believe. I know that He is the resurrection and the life. That whoever believes in Him, though he dies, yet he shall live. He said so. (John 11:26) I believe.
I am ready for the next storm when it hits, because I am standing firm on a solid foundation. (1 Corinthians 3:11)
God’s Story will help you establish and strengthen a strong foundation of faith on which you can build your life. Click HERE to watch Anne’s video series, God’s Story: Discover the Foundation for Faith in God.
