Sandy Land

"Don't build your house on the sandy land,
Don't build it too near the shore..
Well it might look kind of nice but you'll have to build it twice,
Oh you'll have to build your house once more!

You've got to build your house upon the rock,
Make a good foundation on a solid spot..
Oh the storms may come and go,
But the peace of God you will know!"

Anyone else remember this song as a young(er) child??
It's great! It had randomly come into my head a few days ago after reading the parable of the two builders and its been there since. I've known this story from primary school assemblies, RE lessons and from church but I've never properly sat down and thought about it until recently and now I've analysed every word of it!

It blows my mind to think that we are the body of God - individually useless but when combined we can do amazing things through Christ who strengthens us. God dwells us - therefore, (when thinking of this song) I think of us being a house which means we are told to not build ourselves on sandy land..

The next question.. What is sandy land?
Nightclubs? Drink? Drugs? Sex? Lust? Sin of any form I guess is the proper answer.. Anything that doesn't help build our relationship with God.. Anything that is a distraction away from Him... If you stand in sand you can easily sink. Build a sandcastle and with a weak volume effort its destroyed.. Apply this to our lives. I'm not saying every single person sturggles or has a problem with nightclubs, drink, drugs, sex and/or lust, I'm simply trying to list a few of the wide range of possibilities.. What I am saying though is that if we build ourselves on these things while following God it's going to be a sandy place.. No matter how hard we try to stand we will fall to some degree. We're putting ourselves on the fire line for the devil to attack us. We're leaving ourselves open and naive to attack and that, just like the weak volume of effort destroying the sandcastle, will knock us down and push us further from God.

The song continues... "You have to build yourself upon a rock"
Next question? What is a rock? Who is THE rock?
Psalm 18v2 - "The Lord is my rock, my protection, my Savior. My God is my rock. I can run to him for safety."
2 Samuel 22v3 - "My God is my rock. I can run to him for safety. He is my shield and my saving strength, my defender and my place of safety. The Lord saves me from those who want to harm me."

Okay so we have to build ourselves in God... How?
Bible study? Prayer? Journal? Attend church? Daily devotions? Lifestyle?
Hmm the last one certainly sounds challenging... Can we build ourselves in God through our lifestyle? Not necessarily saying we're Christians but having people identify that there is something different about us... Not necessarily standing on street corners handing out flyers to all non-Christians but standing beside our friends and family members who don't know God and showing them God? God tells us that He will fill us, He will be with us and He is in us. If we have God with us, do we need to be afraid? Do we have any reason to feel incapable? We need to just grow in God but we can only grow once we fully let Him in on all parts of our lives - not just the parts we feel He should be in on but all parts - good and bad, dark and light, tough and easy. ALL parts.

No where in the Bible are we told that once we start following Christ all our problems fall away or cease to exist.. Infact, we're told the opposite!
John 16v33 - "I told you these things so that you can have peace in me. In this world you will have trouble, but be brave! I have defeated the world."
We're told we will have troubles... 'The storms may come and go' but if we cling to God He will certainly cling to us! His peace we will know! His love we will experience and His arms will always be around us, caring for us, protecting us and looking out for us through all situations.. How can we not give Him our all?!