By Pastor Greg
Once upon a time, long ago, there lived a sailor named Captain Bravo. He was a manly man's man, who showed no fear when facing his enemies. One day, while sailing the Seven Sea's, his lookout spotted a pirate ship, and the crew became frantic. Captain Bravo bellowed, "Bring me my red shirt!" While wearing the brightly colored frock, the Captain led his crew into battle, defeating the pirates. That evening, as all the men sat around on the deck recounting the day's triumph, one of them asked, "Sir, why did you call for your red shirt before battle?" The captain replied, "If I had been wounded in the attack, the shirt would not have shown my blood. You men would have continued to fight, unafraid." All of the men marveled at the courage of such a manly man's man. As dawn came the next morning, the lookout spotted not one, not two, but TEN pirate ships approaching. The crew stared in worshipful silence at the captain and waited for his usual orders. Captain Bravo gazed with steely eyes upon the vast armada, and without fear calmly shouted, "Get me my brown pants!"
Sometimes you and I are a lot like Captain Bravo. We figure that it is true grit, brute determination, and unrelenting effort that enables us to face anything in life. But we are wrong. We are deceiving ourselves because sometimes the storms of life are more than we can handle on our own. Sometimes, no, most times, we have come to trust in the wrong things. We have built a foundation with the work of our own hands and upon the strength of our own will, which, according to Jesus, is a disaster just waiting to happen.
Turning to a crowd of “would be” followers, Jesus asks “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins” (Luke 6:46-49).
One of the promises of Jesus is the promise of a sure foundation; the promise that when life does indeed rage against us, we can withstand the storm if we have followed His teachings and if we have placed our trust in Him. But if we have learned to trust in our own effort, determination, and strength of will, we can expect to face a situation someday that will destroy us; that will cause our life to come crashing down.
First of all I want you to take notice here that the floodwater broke against both individuals in this illustration. Jesus didn't say that by following Him our life would be easy and absent of stress. So don't start thinking that Jesus will establish some sort of hedge of protection around you. That's not what He is saying. And don't think that because you are facing difficulties right now that you must be a person of little faith or that God is angry with you. Jesus has plainly stated that even those who listen to His teaching and follow His teaching will face a storm; will endure trials and hardships. At some point, everyone, even the Christian, will face a situation where they find themselves asking for their brown pants. What Jesus is saying is that when the storms come, those who have truly surrendered to Him as Lord will find themselves still standing after the storm.
I know this seems like a simple promise; one tucked away behind forgiveness and eternal life, but there is more to this promise than we may think. For those who hear and follow the teachings of Jesus, He promises to hold us tightly in His arms; something we need to remember when facing trials and storms in life. No matter what situation we might be asked to endure, we know deep within our heart that we will not perish because our lives are held securely by our Savior. "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand" (John 10:27-29). And because of our relationship with Jesus, Paul asks "Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us" (Romans 8:35-37). These are truly comforting words, especially as we face trials and hardships. No matter what may come against us, the Lord is with us. And there is nothing above the earth, on the earth, and beneath the earth that can ever separate us from the love of God found within Jesus our Lord.
As comforting as this promise truly is, I couldn’t keep from wondering why God would allow the floodwaters in the first place, especially against the Christian’s house. Their foundation was built upon Christ, not upon good works or deeds of righteousness (doing good and being good). And least that’s what we might think. Maybe, just maybe, even a Christian needs a gentle reminder every now and then that they have allowed something else to take the place of Jesus, and the trial or the period of testing is God’s way of washing away the things that do not belong.
My friend, making Jesus the Lord and foundation of your life is more difficult than we imagine. It is no simple task. It takes more courage than Captain Bravo could ever muster; more than you might think. It means we stop asking Jesus to provide and instead trust that He will. And no, this is not a matter of semantics.
In my own life, for example, I will ask God to grant me the strength to endure the flood of trials I face each day. I ask God to strengthen my faith, but my faith in what; myself and my abilities? If I pray this way I am asking God to strengthen the foundation that I have laid; that I have built; a foundation built with my own hands and with my own strength. Perhaps many of us do this without ever thinking about what we are asking or saying. We ask God, "Give me the strength I need" or "Grant me courage". But if we have been relying on our own strength of will, our own fortitude, and our own determination to make it through the flood, we are asking for an extra boost of faith FROM Jesus instead of placing our faith IN Jesus. And at some point in our life we must realize that even with the Lord’s help, we will never have the ability to withstand the flood. Our only hope is to place our life into the hands of the One who can.
So, is it possible that God might allow a flood or even send a flood to demonstrate where our foundation is weak? Perhaps He sends us through a trial to wash away those things in our life that we have come to depend upon other than Jesus. Perhaps God sends the flood of trials and tribulations against us to merely remind us of those things we have been leaning on or depending upon that are sinking sand. Maybe the catastrophe you are facing right now is a wake-up call that something other than Jesus has become the foundation of your life.
Truthfully, no one is Captain Bravo. No one can withstand everything that comes our way in this life. It is not true grit, brute determination, and unrelenting effort that enables us to remain steadfast against the storm. And neither will we remain steadfast when Jesus strengthens OUR grit, fortifies OUR determination, or grants US superhuman effort. The only thing that will bring us through the flood is to admit that we do not have the strength; that we cannot endure no matter how hard we might try. And at that point, where every brick and piece of mortar that we have come to depend upon is replaced with Jesus, we will find a foundation in life that is not shaken nor washed away.
I think this is going to take some time, at least for me it will, because I am so used to asking Jesus to strengthen me instead of trusting Jesus to be my strength. I know this needs to happen, and perhaps you do as well. But I tell you the truth; it is so hard to admit that I am the other ground; that I am the sinking sand.
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