What's So Amazing About Scripture?Voorbeeld

A Foundation in the Storm

Scripture is amazing—it is a river, a light, the breath of God, seed and rain. It’s also a firm foundation.

We cannot sustain a height of success or influence that exceeds our depth of spirit. The tallest building in the world is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, a half mile high, and twice the height of the Empire State Building. The secret to its stability is found underground. Before construction of even the first of 160 floors began, workers spent a year digging and pouring the massive foundation that supports the tower—110,000 tons of concrete. The building is safe because the foundation is solid.

Each day, as we read and reflect on Scripture, yet another chunk of concrete is laid in the foundation of our lives. 

In good times, the benefits of all our time spent in God’s Word may not be as obvious, but in hard times, the difference is night and day. In fact, Jesus teaches us that knowing his words, and building our lives upon them, is the secret to endurance in testing times, and to hope on the darkest of days. He says, “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) Much better to do that, says Jesus, than to send down our foundation into the sand of transient values, only to come crashing down in the storms of life and future judgment. 

The wrong question to ask is if tough times will come. Of course they will. The better question to ask is if we are prepared for them. If we are wise we will use the good times, each and every day, to dig more and more deeply into “the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide” so that “we may have hope.” (Romans 15:4) Only with our hope in the Word, we will be able to stand our ground and outlive the storm. 

The Psalmist prays, “I have suffered much; preserve my life according to your word.” (Psalm 119:107) God’s Word not only sustains us in the storm, it carries us through the storm to a brighter future, and gives us the stability, strength and perspective we so desperately need.