ROCK
BOTTOM – A FIRM FOUNDATION
BREAD
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts
them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The
rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house;
yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But
everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is
like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The
rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that
house, and it fell with a great crash." Matthew 7:24-27 (NIV)
1 I
waited patiently for the Lord; he
turned to me and heard my cry. 2 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. Psalms 40:1-2
(NIV)
8 We do
not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the
province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to
endure, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Indeed, in our hearts we felt
the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves
but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he
will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver
us, 11 as you
help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the
gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many. 2 Corinthians 1:8-11 (NIV)
12 Dear
friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though
something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of
Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted because of
the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests
on you. 15 If you
suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal,
or even as a meddler. 16 However,
if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear
that name. 17 For it
is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us,
what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 1 Peter 4:12-17 (NIV)
16 Therefore
we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are
being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for
us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what
is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is
unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
(NIV)
31 What,
then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against
us? 32 He who
did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also,
along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge
against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he that condemns?
Christ Jesus, who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right
hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness
or danger or sword? 36 As it
is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as
sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are
more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that
neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the
future, nor any powers, 39 neither
height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate
us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:31-39 (NIV)
BUTTER
“He who is a
believer in Jesus finds enough in his Lord to satisfy him now, and to content
him for evermore. The believer is not
the man whose days are weary for want of comfort, and whose nights are long
from absence of heart-cheering thought, for he finds in Christ such a spring of
joy, such a fountain of consolation, that he is content and happy. Put him in a dungeon and he will find good company;
place him in a barren wilderness, he will eat the bread of heaven; drive him
away from friendship, he will meet the ‘friend that sticketh closer than a
brother.’ Blast all his gourds, and he
will find shadow beneath the Rock of Ages; sap the foundation of his earthly
hopes, but his heart will still be fixed, trusting in the Lord. The heart is as insatiable as the grave till
Jesus enters it, and then it is a cup full to overflowing. There is such a fullness in Christ that He
alone is the believer’s all. The true
saint is so completely satisfied with the all-sufficiency of Jesus that he
thirsts no more – except it be for deeper draughts of the living fountain.” Charles H. Spurgeon
“God is looking for those who will worship Him not only in spirit and in truth – as Jesus says in John 4:23 – but also in crisis. He seeks those who can look beyond the clouds that threaten and hover over them to His radiance that thoroughly surrounds them. And when He finds them, He blesses them. That’s a difficult maturity for most Christians to learn. Our natural reaction in a trial is to flee, or to beg for relief. And we have plenty of biblical examples; asking God for deliverance is thoroughly recommended throughout the Word. But is there panic in the asking? Our weak souls are easily unnerved, but there’s a better pose: We can praise God, knowing that when we call, He will answer. He may not answer exactly the way we expect – though often He does – but He will answer, and His answer will be good. We can count on that. Those who do will pray for deliverance not in a panic, but in a rock-solid trust. God will save. It’s His nature.” Chris Tiegreen
“Do
not question and do not doubt. Each day
holds some small joy that shall escape you if you are preoccupied with
tomorrow. Nothing daunts your
Father. Nothing can restore the past and
nothing can bind the future, but today you may live in the full blessing of the
Father’s smile. Hold to His words, for
they are like a nail driven into solid wood.
All else may seem shifting and transitory, but His Word is firm. It is a rock that shall not be moved. It is a firm place to stand.” Frances J. Roberts
“We
don’t normally like being on the bottom.
It’s just not the position we generally pick. It goes against our flesh. Yet, in the Bible’s economy you stoop to
rise, you lower and God elevates.
Therefore, rock bottom appears the perfect place to simply look up and
the perfect time to begin building upon the solid foundation of the Rock of
Christ. Often stripped of our dearest
Delilah’s we are not too dissimilar to the returning prodigal. We have nothing but our will to bring – do we
really ever have anything else? And
Jesus says tenderly, ‘Come’. On Him you
can depend. On Him you can count. On Him you can trust. He turns away no one. He will never let the righteous fall or blow
away for that matter. His grip is firm
and secure. Much akin to a young mother
grabbing her two year old in busy traffic and yet so infinitely more. He dearly loves His children and He always
causes them to stand because He is faithful and able to cause us to stand – no
matter what wind blows.” BHY
HEART
SAVOR
- · God is faithful and able to cause me stand.
- · With Jesus, rock bottom should me my holy not my hard place.
- · God often strips to show me His sufficiency.
