The Flood

Have you heard the story of the two men building a house? One builds on the rock and the other on the sand? It's here if you haven't read it. Go check it out. I'll be here when you get back.


Did you read it? Good.


A few things strike me as interesting in this parable.


The righteous man. He builds the foundation of his house on the rock. I can almost see the listeners nodding their approval - this man knows what he's doing! As a result, the storm and flood do not prevail against him.


The unrighteous man. He builds the foundation of his house on the sand. The crowds probably laughed and shook their heads, knowing how dimwitted this man was behaving. As expected, the storm and flood easily prevail.


The flood. Notice that it still came, even in view of the righteousness of the first man. The passage says "when" the flood comes, not "if." The indication here is that the flood is coming, the trials will happen, we will face troubles and persecution for the sake of Christ. Your righteousness (or lack thereof) will not stop the storm. This is because the storm is not the point. The point is the God who is Lord over the storm. He is the One in whom we place our trust. He is the One for Whom we are faithful.


The question is: Will you be found righteous or unrighteous when the storm comes? Will you be found faithful, having diligently prepared for the storm? Or will the crowds laugh at you too, easily recognizing that you have been building on the wrong foundation this whole time?


Don't be surprised when you give in to trials and temptation if all along you have not been diligent to build a solid foundation on the Lord and the principles of His Word. What else do you think will happen when the storm comes?


And don't be surprised either when you withstand the storm and make it through temptation or trials if you have been faithful all along. That's the benefit of being faithful. Just make sure your response is one of praise to the Father for being your strength, rather than pride in yourself for standing firm. You couldn't have stood firm without the Rock on which you stood.

Exams

At the school where I teach, this week is exam week.  It's that special time during the school year that only comes around once every 9 weeks. The students are all restless with anticipation and (just to show how excited they are) they all spend weeks preparing for them - studying all the notes that they've so painstakingly written, pouring over practice problems that they've made up in their spare time to help with the preparation, and even forming impromptu study groups in the cafeteria while they munch on healthy food choices.


Who am I kidding?  Do you really think that my students eagerly anticipate taking their exams?  No way!  I feel lucky if they even remember that they have an exam, much less study for it adequately enough to perform well.  I mean, I have literally heard a kid walk into class and say out loud, "We have an exam in here?"


So this morning, as I was thinking about the day ahead of me and all that it entailed, I remembered something that I tell my kids all the time - but especially when a big test or exam is coming up:  Don't wait until the last minute to study!


Now, why do I say that?  I say it because when they wait until the last minute all kinds of bad things can happen.  They could find that they've lost their notes and have nothing to study.  Or they could not remember how to work a problem (even though we've worked it in class together many times).  Maybe they get themselves confused on a concept and then don't have time to come ask for help.  Ultimately (and we all know this because we've been there a time or two), bad things usually happen when we wait until the last minute to get it done.  And what is the end result of waiting to cram the night before a test or exam?  Failure.


I know it's terrible to think about those kids failing a test or exam, but we do it to ourselves as well, don't we?  What do you do when you're tempted to sin?  Where do you go for guidance in resisting the devil?  To Whom do you turn when you've given in and feel overcome with guilt?  You see, why is it that I can shake my head in disappointment at my kids who all wait until the last minute to study for their test, yet I do the same exact thing in my own life?


Why do we wait until we are in the middle of temptation to pray and consult God's Word?  Why do we wait until temptation has nearly overtaken us to go running to the Father for help in our time of need?  Just like waiting until the night before the exam, if you don't take the time to prepare for the test well in advance of it, you will fail.


I think that very same phrase from earlier can apply to us as well.  Don't wait until the last minute to study.  Here's what the Bible has to say about it:

"I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you."        Psalm 119:11

God knows us just like I know my students.  He knows we end up waiting until the very last minute to ask for help, but that's the most difficult time to remember that he has made a way out of our temptation.  When we are caught in the midst of temptation, it seems the last thing we think of is asking God for help.  But what happens if we've been storing His Word away in our hearts the whole time?  It just flows out, naturally, from frequency of use, and then the temptation becomes easier to run away from.  Jesus modeled it for us himself.  What did He do when faced with the temptation of the devil?  He quoted scripture.  What should we do when faced with temptation?  Quote scripture.


Of course, that means we have to have it hidden in our hearts in the first place.


Just a reminder for us all today - don't wait until the last minute to study.