dailywordofdestiny

None of us are immune to the battering of storms and all of us are at various places in our journey through this life. Not one of us can judge what another is going through or how they should go through it because none of us are ever going to be exactly in another person’s place or situation. However, if for just a moment we take our focus OFF the storm and focus on Him, our rock, our fortress, and our deliverer; He will take our hand and lift us up and above the overwhelming flood (Nahum 1: 7, 8).

As a believer, I am comforted by words in the passage found in 1 Peter 2: 1-10; “As you come to Him, the living Stone — rejected by men, but chosen by God and precious to Him — you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.’ Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone.’… ” Hallelujah!

A levee (wall) prevents river water from flooding the adjoining countryside; however, it will also confine the flow of the river, resulting in higher and faster water flow. Levees are also built as field boundaries and as military defenses. A levee is only as strong as its weakest point, the height and standards of construction have to be consistent along its length and it requires a strong governing authority to guide the work. They are usually built on a cleared and level surface; broad at the base with tapering to a level top.

A dry-stone wall is one specific type of levee and as I read about it, it reminded me that as a believer I am sort of like one of the stones used in this wall constructed from stones without any mortar to bind them together. This type of levee is usually very stable because of the unique construction method, which is characterized by the presence of a load-bearing façade of carefully-selected interlocking stones. There are several methods of constructing dry stone walls, depending on the quantity and type of stones available. A double wall is constructed by placing two rows of stones along the boundary to be walled. The rows are composed of large flattish stones. Smaller stones may be used as chocks in areas where the natural stone shape is more rounded. The walls are built up to the desired height layer by layer (line upon line smile ), and at intervals, large tie-stones are placed which span both faces of the wall. These have the effect of bonding what would otherwise be two thin walls leaning against each other. The FINAL layer on the top of the wall consists of large stones called cap stones, coping stones, or copes. As with tie stones, the cap stones span the entire width of the wall and prevent it from breaking apart. (see Ephesians 2: 19-22). Different regions have made minor modifications to the general method of construction—but, whichever method is used to build the dry stone wall, considerable skill is required. Selection of the correct stone for every position in the wall makes an enormous difference to the lifetime of the finished work; and a skilled Waller will take His time making the selection.

However, on the river side (Psalm 1: 3), erosion from strong waves or currents presents a great threat to the integrity of the levee. The effects of erosion can be countered by planting willows, weighted matting, etc. over and into areas of weakness. These man-made levees can fail in a number of ways and the most frequent form of levee failure is a breach. A breach is when part of the levee actually breaks away, leaving a large opening for water (or the enemy) to flood the land protected by the levee. If for a moment you could visualize yourself as a stone in a wall; is there something in your personal life that is eroding your relationship with God? Each of us must seriously consider if we are attempting to pile up a whole lot of spiritual jargon, rituals, and works to plug up the fact that there is a crack starting to weaken our position in the wall.

Today many of you are “walking the walk”. You have repented and turned away from sin; having great faith and trust in the Lord. You may also feel that you have a great relationship with God. BUT THEN one day a breach occurs in your life. One thing about a breach is that it can occur suddenly or it may also be due to a gradual failure that is caused either by surface erosion or by subsurface failure of the levee. Over the years, I have seen some of the following storms that have caused some breaches in my life and in the lives of many others: the doctor tells you that you have cancer; you find out your son is doing drugs; your 14 year old daughter tells you she is pregnant; your house burns to the ground; there is a tornado that blows everything you own away; a recession hits and you lose your job; your husband/wife tells you they are leaving; you log on to a porno site and start chatting with the wrong people, etc. You feel that you cannot cope; discouragement sets in and then depression; you just can’t go on.

An example of the enemy’s methods to erode the stones in the walls of God’s house is found in Nehemiah. “But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth, and conspired all of them together to come and fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it.…

And Judah said, ‘The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so we are not able to build the wall.’ And our adversaries said, ‘They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and cause the work to cease” (4: 7-11).

When we are driven by fear, we often search everywhere for comfort, advice, and relief, hoping to find an easy way out of our troubles. Many of us look to the things of the world to block out the pounding of the waves around us rather than looking to the One who can calm the storm (Matthew 14: 22-32; Mark 4: 35-41). God is merciful and He will place various people (other rocks) around us to support and encourage us when we are weakened by the storm’s assault. But, I remind you that God is our Refuge (Psalm 9: 9; 46: 1-3; 91: 2) and Jesus is the solid capstone, or cornerstone (Matthew 21: 42; Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2: 7; Revelation 5: 10) and this wall we are part of is NOT made by the hands of man (Acts 7: 48-50). Hallelujah!