March 22
Be Rooted in God Each Day (5)
These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock. ––Matthew 7:24-25, MSG
Jesus tells us exactly how to build our lives in Him every day, and what material we should rely on (above). And then this warning:
But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards. ––Matthew 7:26-27 MSG
Solid security in the love of God produces solid application of the words of God. The man Jesus described chose to build a house, and the most important decision he had to make was what material he would use for the foundation. The house, like our tree, represents a life—your life and my life.
It shouldn’t be a hard choice to build a life well, and to build it on the words of God. But for so many men, what they know in their minds and hearts is difficult to accomplish in the big and small spaces of their lives. Reality check: We ALL have areas—weak and blind spots—that cause us problems. But when a man fully comprehends God’s love for him, he searches out and loves applying what God says. It’s a “want to,” not a “have to,” because he is fully accepted, loved, and defined by God. And when THAT happens … well, transformation.
The opposite is also true. When a man is insecure and fearful and therefore questions God’s love, he wavers in doing what God says. You can track it this way: An area of insecurity in your life is an area where you won’t apply God’s Word. If I fear that people won’t accept me, I will do things that go against God’s Word to be more accepted or visible. In fear, I start selfishly competing with others versus connecting with them.
If I fear not having enough money at the end the month and doubt God’s ability to provide, I will struggle with tithing or being generous. If I fear what other men think of me more than what God thinks of me, I will be less likely to share the love of God with them.
Disobedience to God’s ways in an area usually tracks with a fear connected to that area. If we aren’t rooted in love, we live out of what we lack, and fear causes us to abandon God’s direction. That isn’t the “Gardener’s way” for His planted ones.
Nourished by God’s love, we build our lives daily in response to what God says. Stare down those fears and insecurities that wake you up at 4am. Have the top ones in your mind? Now pray God into the center of them. Let His light in.
Father, recalibrate my scales so I’m more afraid of displeasing You than I am of letting down my fellow men.