Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken
Psalm 62:6
I was reminded tonight how my faith is built upon the Rock. Solid, secure and it will not move. When the storms come and the waves are washing everything out to sea it is the Rock of which my faith stands that remains in place.
At my Church they had a dinner honoring the ministry groups. I went to support my wife who was and continues to be involved in the Freedom in Christ ministry. For anyone who is curious about this ministry I am including their link:https://www.ficm.org/
When we entered the room all of the tables had several shiny rocks at the center. Once the dinner dishes were cleared the facilitator had us pick one of the shiny rocks off the table and write one word that describes what faith means to you. After giving people time to write their word down he asked for volunteers to share what was on their rock. One guy who sat next to me said he wrote 'faithful' on his rock because he has discovered that no matter what happens to you in life God is always faithful. My wife volunteered to share her word which was 'Child of the one true King'. One by one people were sharing how God had used them in the lives of people changed through the these ministries.
At the close of the meeting we sang the song I am posting above. A powerful praise song how much God loves each of us in life. I remember the facilitator reminding us how powerful praising God is even in the face of whatever storms we might be going through in life. There is actually healing that comes out of lifting our voice to God.
At the close of the evening I had a good conversation with a friend of mine that painted our home a few years ago. He shared the story of 'Tom', one of the guys who helped him paint our home. I remembered Tom as the younger member of the crew. He was being mentored by the older gentlemen on the crew. I was reminded that Tom had given up on his faith because of the few atrocities he saw from 'church people'.I remember sharing with Tom our families tragedy of losing our daughter and how much my faith means to me even in the face of tragedy.
In the last several weeks Tom started having chest pains and decided that he should go to the hospital where it was determined that he was having a full blown heart attack. They did emergency open heart surgery on him. He recovered for a very brief moment until he started having multiple strokes. In the last few weeks it was decided that there was little hope for survival and he was removed from life support. This friend doesn't know if Tom had accepted the Lord, but added that it is between him and God.
The point I am trying to illustrate is life is very brief. One day we can be enjoying the sunshine, listening to the birds sing, and loving the people we are with and the next moment life can take an abrupt turn onto a unknown path. I encourage you to build your faith on the Rock, not on other people.
Lastly, no matter what you are going through in life God is writing your story. He wants you to be the hands and feet of Jesus to tell others the truth so they will come to the rock for a faith that is immovable, even in the face of storms.
After I wrote this blog I found out that our friend Steve passed away from debilitating conditions of the last several years. He is having his heavenly homecoming as I type these comments. For those left behind your job isn't done. Your goal is to share the love of Christ to everyone you meet and tell them how God loves them.
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