Solid As A Rock

"Today's Devotion" For June 15, 2006

Read: Psalm 31:1-5; Matthew 7:24-27

SOLID AS A ROCK

"Since You are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of Your name lead and guide me. Free me from the trap that is set for me, for You are my refuge." (Psalm 31:3, 4)

In order for any building to have a chance of standing for a long period of time, it needs to have a solid foundation under it. Most building construction in the United States has a requirement of at least a minimal concrete foundation, which is usually laid on a prepared bed of ground, which includes a layer of crushed rock. In the northern climes such construction usually includes a basement, also set on a concrete foundation, with the ground beneath it properly prepared so that shifting of the foundation is kept to minimum - such shifting can cause the foundation and the walls of a basement to weaken and collapse. I know of one such building at my children's high school where settling has occurred to the point where there are now cracks in the foundation walls and the floor where the new building is attached to the old. If left unaddressed and uncorrected, over a period of time numerous other problems will begin to crop up and the expense of fixing them will become greater and greater.

Before we knew how to mix cement and concrete, however, people who built wisely, built their buildings on soil they knew was reasonably solid, often looking for areas where there was bedrock underneath the structure. On the prairies, the settlers had to be certain that where they built their house they wouldn't be in danger of having it washed away because of heavy rains. The key to the stability of any of those early structures, even going back to the pyramids of ancient Egypt, was the foundation on which they were built, and rock was about the most solid foundation they could have.

Just as a physical house or building needs to have a solid and firm foundation, so also do our spiritual houses require such a foundation. Everywhere we look there's someone, somewhere, coming up with new ways of living and being that are supposed to be the "end all" answers to the spiritual challenges and dilemmas people face in their lives. Instinctively, because of humanity's natural knowledge of God based on the evidence of the world and universe around us, people know when their spiritual foundation is insecure and unstable. People will search high and low to find the answers to the spiritual dilemmas they face, even when they don't "believe" in spiritual things.

Various cults and religions have arisen over the course of human existence to try to come to grips with the spiritual needs of human beings apart from acknowledging the one true God - the God who created the world, the universe, and all that exists; the God who has redeemed His creation, especially we human beings, from the destructive nature of Sin which would destroy His creation and keep it from Him; the God who works every day to touch people's lives with His love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness and who seeks to bring them into a saving and loving relationship with Him. Invariably, the results of such cults and religions that seek to give answers apart from knowing the true God lead people to greater doubt, greater uncertainty, and loss of hope for anything beyond what can be seen.

In the face of such uncertainty in the world around us, how wonderful and sustaining are the words of the Psalmist, "Since Your are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of Your name lead and guide me. Free me from the trap that is set for me, for You are my refuge" (Ps. 31:3, 4). Because of God's assurance to us that our sins are forgiven through faith in Jesus Christ, we can be certain that we can withstand every spiritual challenge and stress to the spiritual foundation we have with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We can say with the same certainty and faith as the Psalmist that our God is always present with us to uplift us, protect us, and guide us to live in and for Him each day. He fills us with His peace and joy and removes all doubts about who we are in relationship with Him.

It's true that the power of Sin and the challenges of the world conspire on a daily basis to set spiritual traps for us to lead us away from a relationship with God. Yet, in Christ, we are assured that we have a refuge from the power of Sin and the vagaries of the world. By the power of His Word and Spirit, through the washing of and continual blessings of Holy Baptism, and in the reception of the true Body and Blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the Lord's Supper our God continually sets us free from the traps Sin, Death, Satan, and world set for us. He is truly our refuge and provides us, in Christ, with a spiritual foundation that is truly "solid as a rock."

Prayer: Father, no matter how often I may be led astray by the temptations to sin and the challenges of the world, You still come to my aid and by the power of Your Word and Spirit, bring me back to You. Continue to shower Your power and love abroad in my heart and life that I may live a life of true repentance, full of joy in Your forgiveness in Christ, and confident that You are my rock and fortress, my refuge in whom I can trust and stand up against sin and every evil. Guide me by the power of Your Word and Spirit to greater faith and obedience to You and Your Word. As You strengthen my faith in Jesus I pray that You would also strengthen my witness to Your love and forgiveness in Him so that others, too, might come to know Your truth and receive Jesus as the rock of their spiritual foundations so that they might stand in faith with You, "solid as a rock" in witness to Your salvation. In Jesus' precious name I pray. Amen.
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--Pastor Boeck

Copyright © 2006 The Rev. Richard J. Boeck, Jr. All rights reserved.