And the rains descended and the floods came, and the winds blew and burst against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock. – Matthew 7:25

Stay. Build a house that remains.

These are the words that stayed with me after attending Priscilla Shirer’s Awaken Gathering last week. (If you are not familiar with this event, it is something Going Beyond Ministries puts on twice a year in the Dallas/ Fort Worth area and it is amazing!) She wanted to encourage the 3000 women in front of her to stay.  To not give up.  

There have been times when I found myself on the brink of giving up and would have given up if it hadn’t been for my faith in Jesus.  If I hadn’t had a strong foundation founded in Him, I would’ve been blown away in the storm!  

Because my faith is in Jesus, my hope is in Jesus, my joy is in Jesus, and my strength comes from Jesus, I can stand before you today and echo Priscilla’s words to you, “Stay.  Build a house that remains.” 

I’m not saying I never falter because if you have been reading my blog you know that I do!  I’ll be the first to tell you that I fall short daily.  I lose sight and have to be reminded that I have a strong foundation and I can weather this storm because I do not weather it alone.  The Lord goes before me and He walks beside me holding my right hand.  

I have learned that when the storms come, we have a choice.  We can let it destroy us.  We can let it take our faith.  We can let it take our joy and our hope.  We can let it take away everything!  We can retreat.

OR

We can stand firm in the Word of God. We can continue to grow in our faith. We can sing His praises in the midst of the storm and fight it from a stance of victory knowing that our foundation is strong and deeply rooted in our Savior.  Then we will know that we have built a house that will remain!