Can We Really Fall?

“The rains 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.”

Matthew 7:25

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon. My husband wanted to get the family out and enjoy the outdoors but also get some work done, so he recruited us all to wash the cars. We had finished washing his truck and was now moving on to my car. While my husband was rearranging the vehicles in the driveway I decided to goof off with the kids a bit. I had a brilliant idea to try skateboarding for the first time in my 40 years on this earth. Let me just add that it is not a good idea to pick up a skateboarding hobby at the age of 40. I decided to step straight onto the skateboard with my right foot and as soon as I lifted my left foot onto it, it went forward and my body stayed behind. I fell flat on my bottom. It felt like a boulder coming down on a concrete driveway as my body ricocheted off of it. I had just started feeling better from pulling something in my low back and that is the first thing I felt. The kids were very impressed with how quickly I hopped back up. I may have hopped up quickly but I limped away. Of course they told Doug immediately. He thought it was absolutely ridiculous for me to even attempt to ride a skateboard at 40 years old, on a wet driveway, wearing flip flops. Perhaps he was right.

Anyways, it got me thinking about falling. Let’s think about the many ways we fall. We fall down and get scrapes, bruises, broken bones, and scars. We fall mentally every time we tell ourselves we can’t do something. Either we’re not smart enough, pretty enough, or talented enough. We fall when someone tears us down with their words. This happens often in our homes as we talk to our loved ones, in our jobs as we talk to fellow employees, really it happens anywhere we are around other individuals. We fall when we make bad choices and sin. I know at least one of these happens every day for me.

“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. 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. 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. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” Matthew 8:18

Jesus tells us the world is going to bring calamity on us but there is a way to keep from falling with the world. We are to build our houses, ourselves, firmly on the foundation that does not waver, it will not shake and shift under our feet. What does this mean? We know the foundation Jesus is talking about is our faith in Him but how do we stand firmly on Him?

Most people do not intentionally build their lives on shifting sand, it is something that happens without us being aware of it. We begin to slowly turn to the world to answer our questions during a pandemic, or we fall into the trap of sin and lies and don’t know how to dig ourselves out, or we begin to doubt that God is truly who He says He is as our world is sunk down deep in chaos. It’s a slippery slope that the devil relishes on us continuing to build on.

In order for our lives to be built on the firm foundation of Christ we have to not just listen to what Jesus is saying, we have to put His teachings into practice. We have to hear Him and respond to Him. If we leave out the part of response and action then we are phony Christians. When we are phony Christians it is not just ourselves that sees this. Our friends see it, our families see it, our co-workers see it, and God sees it. You cannot hide this fact and keep it buried inside yourself. The truth will always come out and can create lasting damage structurally when storms in our lives appear.

”Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it — he will be blessed in what he does.” James 1:22-25

If we confess that we are Christ followers, then we have to practice what the Bible teaches. We have to practice obedience, truth, faithfulness, and love. Those are hard things to practice in this fallen world. But, God demands that we hold these actions close to our hearts and practice them daily. We want to look in the mirror and recognize the Christ follower we confess to be.

We may fall some in our lives, but we can rest assured that if we are standing on the foundation of Christ, He will pick us up every time. If we are practicing what the Bible is teaching, then God’s mercy and compassion saves us. Thank you Jesus for that because I certainly slip up every day. Anybody with me? There are definitely days that doubt creeps into my mind, or I turn on the news and fear overtakes me, or I simply wake up in a bad mood and I lash out at everyone in my path. When that happens I need to remember to stand firm on the teachings of Christ. He will always bring me back to level, firm ground.

Stand firm on the promises of Jesus Christ not a skateboard that will roll out from under you. Christ’s promises of truth, forgiveness, and love.

Dig Deeper: Psalm 37:23-24, Ecclesiastes 9:12

What makes your foundation start to waver and become slippery?

What do you do to turn your focus back on Christ’s promises?

How can you help someone today that is not living on the firm foundation of Christ?