Recently we tied the record in North Carolina of 12 rainy days in a row. The last time this happened was 128 years ago.
The rain fell on everyone and affected us all. The sun did not shine for some and not for others. No amount of preparation or wealth could make the sun come out for even just one person.
I was thinking about that as I was reading Matthew this morning. Jesus said,
"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 (NIV)
In this teaching both groups of people get rain storms that are strong enough to knock down a house.
CCR used to sing, "It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no fortunate son!" But the truth of the matter is, all of us will face hard times, stormy times, times when our very lives will be shaken. None of us are fortunate sons when it comes to being exempt from difficult times.
It is not a matter of, "if" those times will come, but "when".
The difference between the two groups of people in Jesus' teaching was that one built their lives on the Word of God, while the other did not. Therefore one life weathered the storm well, while another did not.
As a Christian we are not promised sunny skies every day, but we are promised a solid foundation that will see us through this life and bring us into the next.
