House of Cards...

August 14, 2009

Danielle Joyner Kelley

"You were wearied by all your ways, but you would not say, 'It is hopeless.' You found renewal of your strength, and so you did not faint." Isaiah 57:10.

People have a bad habit of placing their trust in things that they want. Getting what we want on our own terms can result in it being taken from us in the blink of an eye. People are famous for building houses made of cards. If their hope and love are in that house, when it falls it is total devastation. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21.

When those falls take place, what seems as a bad time in our lives is actually a golden opportunity. With patience running so short here on Earth, when we pray for hope, love, patience, and the like, we expect God to rain it down upon us and for us to feel it instantly. What we forget is that He has to give us the opportunity to be hopeful, patience, and loving.

Those opportunities are tests of our character. What most do not realize due to our own impatience is that if we wait out that test and keep our eyes upon Him, we will end up with a house much better than one we could ever build ourselves. “Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:4.

Most important, you will learn that in the future you will not have to make those decisions again and fear the fall that is coming. “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." Isaiah 30:21. That is exactly where we learn that true security is not something we are able to give to ourselves. That security comes from Jesus Christ.

Do not build a house made of cards. Instead, wait through the storms for God to build a house for you that is everlasting. "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 7:24-27.

Through the building process trust in Him for the patience and endurance you need, and remember that He is giving you the opportunity to be patient through your wait. Keep preparing for the house to be built as if it already has been done by walking in faith. Being unsure of the end result is no excuse for a lack of preparation. Do not start to build on your own. You did not design the blueprints for this house. The only blueprints you designed were the ones that resulted in a House of Cards. A rush to completion causes an incomplete work at best.

The truth is that security in life is not in getting what we want, but in placing the trust in the only one who can give us what we need. In the end, you will be a complete work living in a house that was built based on perfect blueprints. Moreover, you will have the security of knowing that the builder did not only design the blueprints for your house,

He designed the ones that were used to create you as well.