Standing by the bank of a river, I heard a plop. I turned to see what had happened, and the plop happened again. Over and over again, it happened. I watched as parts of the riverbank continually fell into the water. As it did so, it was quickly swept away. The water was muddy and unappealing. I was standing on the other side, on the rocks. I watched the water that flowed close to me. It was clear and flowing beautifully beside me.
The Lord reminded me of His Word in Matthew 7. Jesus tells about two different types of people:
- Those who hear His teachings and obey
- Those who hear His teachings and do not obey
“Whoever hears these teachings of mine and obeys them is like a wise man who built his house on rock. It rained hard, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house. But it did not fall because it was built on rock.”
“Whoever hears these teachings of mine and does not obey them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. It rained hard, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house. And it fell with a loud crash.” Matthew 7:24-27
Standing on the riverbank, I watched as the land crashed into the river. It made me think of the recent storms. Floodwaters were so bad in some states that we saw videos of houses falling into the water and being swept away.
The Lord began to speak to my heart. He had me replace the pictures of the houses being swept away, with actual people being swept away. All of a sudden, the story I had heard so many times became vivid in my heart. I knew Jesus was not talking about literal houses, but as I began to picture people falling into the water and being washed away, it broke my heart.
Disobedience is causing people to “fall with a loud crash.” Disobedience causes people to fall into the raging storms of life and feel like there is no hope.
- Unbelievers who hear Jesus calling them and choose to ignore Him or go the other way are falling into the muddy miry waters.
*Christians are falling into the muddy miry water because they hear His Word and do not obey it.
We have to choose to build our house, our life upon the rock, His truth. Sometimes we slip into the miry water because we get close to the edge. We dabble in disobedience. Our disobedience may not be easily visible to others. However, Jesus said, whatever is not of faith is sin. (Romans 14:3b) Walking in disobedience may be more subtle, such as allowing fear, doubt, worry, unforgiveness, sinful habits, anger, or negativity to take root in our lives. Sometimes it is hanging out with the wrong people or watching/reading things that gratify our sinful nature.
The flood and miry waters are different for each of us. If you feel like you are drowning in the floodwaters, I have Good News! There is a remedy. Call out to God. Turn away from your sin/disobedience and obey God.
Rescue me from the mud.
Do not let me sink into it.
I want to be rescued from those who hate me
and from the deep water.
Do not let floodwaters sweep me away.
Do not let the ocean swallow me up,
or the pit close its mouth over me.
Answer me, O Lord, because your mercy is good.
Out of your unlimited compassion, turn to me. Psalm 69:14-16 (GW)
Do you remember the story of Peter walking on water? Jesus called out to him and told him to come. Peter stepped out of the boat and began walking on water to Jesus. I don’t know how far he got before the storms took his attention. I do know that when Peter took his focus off Jesus and onto the waves, he began to sink. As Peter began to sink, he quickly called out to Jesus, “save me!”. Jesus was there for him immediately. Jesus extends His hand to Peter and pulls him up out of the sinking water.
If you are sinking, all you have to do is call out to Jesus. He will rescue you. Jesus said to Peter, “Why did you doubt?” Doubt is often the root of our sin/disobedience. To deal with doubt and unbelief, we have to spend time getting to know our God. We need to build our house upon the Rock.
Let’s build a firm foundation. Jesus said, to do that, we must hear His Words and obey them. The way we hear what He is saying is by spending time with Him. We read and meditate on the Bible. We spend time praying. We take time to worship Him.
I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. Psalm 40:1-2
Jesus is asking us to hear His words and obey them because He knows what it will do. Walking in obedience to Jesus not only allows us to walk victorious, but it also allows us to let our light shine for others, to share the Good News with people. Our lives are changed. Other lives are changed and God is getting the glory!
He makes my feet like hinds’ feet [able to stand firmly and tread safely on paths of testing and trouble]; He sets me [securely] upon my high places. Psalm 18:33
Written by Collette Sawyer
