In Udder Words ~~~~~ Top of the Rock of Jesus

Sometimes God lets you hit rock bottom so that you will discover that He is the rock at the bottom                    Dr. Tony Evans  

 

The plans for the house we were going to build were ready to go. Arrangements were made, permits bought, lumber purchased, and concrete ordered all to get us started on our little nest we were ready to call home. The next thing that needed to be done was the breaking of the ground to dig out the area where the foundation was going to be laid.

The first few feet of dirt was easy to remove but then we hit what they call the “hardpan.” That layer of earth that is almost impossible to get through as it serves as one big solid rock. Try as we might to go further once the hardpan was hit there was no going further and our building process began from there.

In our spiritual lives we experience this same thing in a different kind of way. We make our plans, we do our arrangements, we rearrange things around us all in effort to build up and get what we want. Sometimes our adventures lead us down roads not so pleasant that end up in a free-fall to the ground where we hit what they call “rock bottom.” 

It is from that rock bottom position that we finally take the time to stop and look up and around to do an assessment of our lives. We discover the mistakes we made, the risks we took that weren’t worth it, the misguided decisions that got us to where we were at the rock bottom or the hardpan position of life that we came to.

It is in that position that humbleness replaces arrogance, trust in God replaces trust in our own abilities, and a firm foundation replaces sandy shores. All of which is done when we discover the best rock to land on at the bottom, top, middle or anywhere is the rock of Jesus. It’s really a shame we don’t save ourselves the time and effort and start there in the first place. However, we don’t as there always seems to be the top layer of dirt or life that has to be removed first.

The hardpan of the earth is where we started to build the base of our home and the rock bottom is the place where we need to build our spiritual foundation. A foundation based on the rock of Jesus for a footing that cannot be moved. A cornerstone that will always keep us upright as long as we continue to build upon it instead of replace it with other things in life. Things that will cause a foundation to shift and move such as our attitude, priorities, our choices in life, our lack of obedience to God’s word and will and selfishness.

It would do us well to stop and frequently look at the condition of our spiritual building instead of waiting for life to send us falling. If there are issues with the structure once properly inspected we will find out it was not the Rock of Jesus that moved but where we chose to build that was altered.

Turn your “rock bottom” into the top of the rock of Jesus and build on something that will last for all eternity. Thanks to the Lord our building Inspector, Architect, and Carpenter.

 

© 2012 Karen J Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing       In Udder Words Tuesday

 

The Home Within

July 22, 2008 IOW

“We, as women, think of ourselves as mothers, teachers, nurses and so on, but God says that we are builders. We usually relegate this role to the men, but we are building with something far greater than brick and timber.” By Nancy Campbell, The Power of Motherhood

In the book of Proverbs is where you’ll find the scripture that says, “The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish pulls it down with her hands. Proverbs 14:1 (NKJV) I’m sure when this book was written this wasn’t a call for women architects across the world. Instead it was a statement of fact telling us that we definitely play a role in the building process of our home.

On Saturday nights in my home is what we call “family night.” My grandkids love the show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” Anticipating the excitement of the show we get out our popcorn and sit there as a group watching their favorite show. Every week they enjoy seeing who is getting a new home and what the outcome of the whole process will bring. Behind the excitement are hidden dreams of some day being one of those people chosen to get a new home suited just for them.

First order of business Ty Pennington and his crew have to do is figure out exactly what they want the new one to look like. After that the old house comes down in order to make room for the new. Being creative at what they do they often find different ways to tear down the old in this much needed renovation process.

As women we need to have a good idea what we want our home to look like, the home beyond the bricks and timber that the world sees. The home we are responsible for building using the materials of love, forgiveness, obedience, self-discipline, spiritual guidance as well as a reverent love and fear for the Lord and so much more.

Brick by brick a house goes up, virtue by virtue, characteristic by characteristic, memory by memory. It’s a process that takes time. Ty and his crew may be able to do their whole process in a week but that isn’t what we as women are called or expected to do. The main requirement for us is the fact that we are indeed building instead of foolishly pulling down our own home by the work of our hands.

The bricks and the timbers will come and go but the home we build spiritually; the home that goes with us no matter where we live is something that remains forever. That was a hard lesson for me to learn once as the home my husband and I had built was caught in foreclosure due to the ending of my husband’s job he had for 22 years. God told me the house that was for sale on that 10 acre lot wasn’t the house that counted. The home that was moving on to other places was a home that wasn’t for sale. It couldn’t be torn down or sold unless I did it myself with the works of my own hands and the attitude of my own heart. A home far more important that had no completion deadline to meet but only the requirement of someone willing to continue to add to it virtue by virtue, characteristic by characteristic.

CLOSING THOUGHT: There’s a lot of trust placed upon the architect people chosen to put together a home. Faith that they know what they are doing. Trusting they are capable of drawing up the needed plans that will assure that if properly laid down the foundation of the home will come out right as well as the structure to follow. Likewise, there is a lot of hidden trust placed on us as women that we “know what we are doing” in our building process. Similar to the unseen papers tossed aside or the eraser skid marks on the plans of the architect as he draws his plans are the unseen endless days and nights of struggling with trying to figure out what we don’t know and building on what we do.

The important things to remember no matter how long or hard the process are the words of wisdom that come from the book of Psalms. “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who built it…” Psalm 127:1 (NKJV) With God on our crew as the General in charge we can do it. It’s one home that the building process starts from within and grows outward to those around us.

Architect wanted, apply within.


This week’s host is Chelesy at her site at Joyfully Living