Standin’ Steady

Alright, I’ll be switched, Buttercup, git to steppin’ right on up here on this here front porch jes’ like you are a‑tryin’ to shoo a nosy raccoon off’n your biscuit plate at a backyard picnic ‘cause we’re gonna to talk ‘bout foundations. And not the cement kind your cousin Earl done poured crooked out behind the hay barn. I’m ‘a-talkin’ ‘bout the kind o’ foundation that keeps your soul from ‘a‑shakin’ like a long tailed barn cat in a room full of rockin’ chairs ‘a-rockin’. Jesus said in Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.” Now that’s what I call real solid there.

Truth is, a whole lot of believers start to feelin’ wobbly in their walk with God ‘cause they don’t never built their lives on anything sturdier than that there wishful thinkin’ and ‘a-using inspirational refrigerator magnets for reminders. Then, when that there trouble hits, they go to scramblin’ like a rooster that just realized the sun came up without him ‘a-rememberin’ to be ‘a-crowin’ to announce the sunrise. They don’t know where to turn.

Let me be ‘a-savin’ you some time here, Buttercup. When disaster done strikes, your favorite website ain’t gonna be ‘a-holdin’ you up. The morning news ain’t gonna be ‘a-steadyin’ your heart. But one gem from the ocean of God’s Word can be ‘a-doin’ for your soul than a whole truckload of earthly advice. Folks have been ‘a-findin’ comfort in Scripture since before possums done learned to play dead.

Isaiah 40:8 reminds us that “the grass withers and the flowers fade, but the Word of our God stands forever.” Them there ideas done come and go. Philosophies git real old faster than milk curdles in the heat o’ July. But God’s Word keeps right on ‘a-stayin’ fresh, relevant, and stronger than an ol’ bull that done jus’ spotted an open gate.

Jesus told a story in Matthew 7:24-27 about two builders. One done built his house on the rock. The storms done came. The winds done howled. The rains done poured. That there house done stood and kept  a‑standin’ like a stubborn mule. The other feller done built on sand. The storms done hit. The house done fell down faster than a scarecrow in a windstorm. That there difference wasn’t the weather. It was that there foundation.

So, git yourself real anchored in God’s Word right now ‘a-fore life starts ‘a‑throwin’ curveballs like a rascally lil’ ol’ squirrel ‘a-tossin’ acorns at your head. Build real deep. Build real steady. Build on real truth that ain’t gonna rot, rust, or run off.

Father, be ‘a-helpin’ me to build my life on Your Word. Be ‘a-teachin’ me to trust what You say more than what I see, and be steadyin’ my heart when storms come. In Jesus’ name,  Amen.

And, Buttercup, you done gotta be ‘a-knowin’ that a soul rooted in Scripture stands firmer than a fence post sunk in cement, and them storms that once scared you silly will start to lookin’ more like opportunities for God to be ‘a-showin’ off His strength. And as you keep ‘a-leanin’ into His truth day after day, you’ll be ‘a-findin’ that His Word becomes the real steady place your heart is gonna be returnin’ to even when  life done starts ‘a‑swirlin’ ‘round you like leaves caught up in a fall windstorm.

With joy,

Gwen