Day 4: Unshakeable
As for everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and puts them into practice... they are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built (Luke 6:47-48).
Sovereign Lord, You call to our attention— holding up before all— the One You have exalted to the highest place (Philippians 2:9):
“Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation…” (Isaiah 28:16 - NKJV).
You, Yourself, Lord God, chose the cornerstone for Your kingdom— the Messiah You had promised from the very onset to a fallen humanity (Genesis 3:15); the Messiah who came when the set time had fully come (Galatians 4:4).
To religious authorities bent on rejecting Him in order to defend their own power and position, the Lord Jesus affirmed His identity as that cornerstone, quoting Psalm 118:22, 23: “Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture: “‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” (Mark 12:10-11).
And to emphasize the futility of human religiosity, philosophy, and thought; to reveal the shakiness of pursuits rooted in human ambition, human effort, human authority, or human power, Jesus gave the illustration of the wise and foolish builders (Luke 6:47-49):
Everyone who... hears My words and puts them into practice... are like a man building a house, who... laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it... (Luke 6:47-48). For nothing built on the Rock, the Cornerstone can be shaken— not by flood, nor torrent, nor storm...
All through Scripture we are told that this world is temporary. God has promised that a time of great shaking will come; not just of the earth as when He gave the Law on Mount Sinai:
At that time His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain (Hebrews 12:26-27).
Only what is built on the Rock will remain: The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever (1 John 2:17).
Father! Help us to be wise builders, digging down deep and laying our foundation on the Rock of Ages. Help us not to simply call You 'Lord, Lord,' and neglect to do what You say (Luke 6:46).
Help us to build our life, our family, our work, our purpose, and our pursuits on Your life-giving words, so that when we face the torrent, we will be unshakeable, unashamed, never stricken with panic (Isaiah 28:16 - CSB, EHV, NIV). And when we have come through the storms of life, we will prove what You have promised, Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away (Matthew 24:35).
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