{"id":1604,"date":"2011-08-29T06:26:20","date_gmt":"2011-08-29T13:26:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.richarddahlstrom.com\/?p=1604"},"modified":"2011-08-29T06:26:20","modified_gmt":"2011-08-29T13:26:20","slug":"storms-foundations-rebuilding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/richarddahlstrom\/2011\/08\/29\/storms-foundations-rebuilding\/","title":{"rendered":"Storms, foundations, rebuilding…."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/p>\n

The Wise man Built His House upon the Rock\u2026\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s the end of a bad day and I\u2019m driving to the writing cabin.\u00a0 Stresses, demands, uncertainties, broken appointments, and hurtful words followed by icy withdrawal \u2013 all of these were wrapped up in a single sunny day.\u00a0 A word that might describe my reaction to these trials:\u00a0 pathetic.\u00a0 I withdrew into self-pity, and wallowed in my pain.<\/p>\n

Ironically, it was the day that I studying about how those who have a strong foundation in Christ can weather storms<\/em><\/strong>, while those with a weak foundation won\u2019t, with the result that the whole edifice will wash away.\u00a0 The words of have special meaning while I\u2019m studying this week, because Irene\u2019s been blowing up the east coast and she\u2019s no metaphor.\u00a0 She\u2019ll reveal the quality of countless foundations, and no matter the beauty of the above ground structure, both humble and magnificent beach houses will be swept away if the foundation is sub-par.<\/p>\n

As I drive to writing cabin this evening, I\u2019m humbled by the realization that the words I preach are, on this day at least, more words than reality \u2013 easily swept away because the trials of the day have revealed an insufficient foundation.\u00a0 I\u2019m solid when I\u2019m able to do the work I love and people respond positively.\u00a0 When my stomach\u2019s full, my joints don\u2019t ache, and I\u2019m loved by everyone I care about, then I\u2019m a spiritual superstar. \u00a0But what about the other days?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

When storms come and lash at the edifice of spirituality that I\u2019ve created, what\u2019s left after the storm is the realization that some of my \u201cgod talk\u201d is easily swept away when I become disillusioned, or stressed, or sometimes even just hungry? \u00a0What\u2019s left is the revelation that beneath that veneer, there\u2019s still some stuff that needs to be dealt with.\u00a0 Seeing that this is true is painful, but let me hasten to add that it\u2019s also good.\u00a0 I\u2019d rather learn about my \u201cstuff\u201d because of a misunderstanding with my wife, or stresses over having too much to do, than via some far greater storms of either a personal or global nature.<\/p>\n

All this has me thinking about better foundations than mine.\u00a0 I think of Deitrich Bonhoeffer<\/a>, Sophie Scholl<\/a>, Elizabeth Elliot, John Perkins, Pastor Gahigi<\/a>, and so many others scattered across the globe, and across the ages.\u00a0 They weathered real storms: genocide, war, imprisonment, persecution, deep loss.\u00a0 In spite of everything, they were somehow able to continue on as people of blessing and hope, even though their worlds crumbled.\u00a0 I ponder this and wonder what lessons can be learned by looking at people whose foundations are strong.<\/p>\n

The common threads that runs through the \u201cfirm foundation\u201d crowds include a willingness to go in a direction completely different than every one else<\/strong>.\u00a0 They\u2019re usually thinkers<\/strong>, but not just thinkers; they\u2019re people who would never be content to talk about ideas without living into them.<\/strong>\u00a0 This is perhaps what Jesus meant when he said, \u201cEveryone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Yes, the writing cabin is built on a rock foundation because if the logs were soaked in the 45 inches of rain that come to the cabin each year, the cabin would be gone.\u00a0 Extending the life of the cabin by, say 100 years, is worth the hassle of doing a little foundation work at the beginning.<\/p>\n

The cabin welcomes me.\u00a0 The calendar tells me its May, because that\u2019s the last time I sat here.\u00a0 And now, after Europe and Los Angeles, vision meetings and strategic planning, New Hampshire and a book release, a new budget and the return of my daughter from Rwanda\u2026 I\u2019m back.\u00a0 I thought I\u2019d changed more than I have this summer, thought I\u2019d nearly fully matured. \u00a0Maybe it\u2019s just the circumstances that changed.\u00a0 It\u2019s easy to feel pretty spiritual when you\u2019re hiking in the Alps with your best friend wife and it\u2019s sunny, or when you\u2019re teaching the Bible and the people who are listening have gathered precisely because they love listening to people teach the Bible.\u00a0 It looks like a really solid building.<\/p>\n

But 24 hours of weary administration, personal challenges, relational stresses and misunderstandings, and all that holiness goes flying out the window, or to stick with the metaphor, those stained glass windows come crashing down as the storm of the day batters my surprisingly fragile soul.\u00a0 Turns out I can\u2019t even take a little neglect without getting bitter.<\/p>\n

I open the door, and light a candle.\u00a0 The cabin is more than just a cabin for me \u2013 it\u2019s a place of intimacy with Jesus.\u00a0 No internet.\u00a0 No phone.\u00a0 No TV.\u00a0 Tonight, no wife either, as she\u2019s in an intensive class this week.\u00a0 Tonight the cabin is a listening place.\u00a0 I love being here because I\u2019m forced to listen.\u00a0 Tonight I\u2019m not at my best, and Jesus meets me here to remind me that He\u2019s well able to guide me away from the shifting sands of my emotions and circumstances, my pride, my fear of rejection.\u00a0 He reminds me that He\u2019s a rock \u2013 solid and unshakeable.\u00a0 Having shown me the areas where I\u2019m vulnerable, He invites me to find Him as my rock; invites me to move off the shifting sands of \u201chuman approval\u201d and onto the rock of \u201ccomplete in Christ\u201d to share but one example.<\/p>\n

Like a master builder, He\u2019s showing me the damage done by today\u2019s storm, but there\u2019s a smile on His face<\/em>.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll rebuild \u2013 you and me.\u00a0 Let\u2019s get started.\u201d<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 This is the Jesus I love.<\/p>\n

God of the broken pieces<\/p>\n

Thanks be to you that, again and again you offer to guide us more fully to union with we so that we, being yoked to your Life, will find the firm foundation. \u00a0Grant that in the midst of whatever storms may come, we will display your hope, mercy, love, peace, and blessing to all in our world.<\/em> \u00a0Amen<\/p>\n

NOTE:\u00a0(I wrote this Saturday, and part of it found a way into my sermon <\/a>yesterday. \u00a0An internet friend, Jason Fowler, has thoughts on the same passage<\/a> from the perspective of collective cultural shakings \u2013 it\u2019s a good read)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Wise man Built His House upon the Rock\u2026\u00a0 It\u2019s the end of a bad day and I\u2019m driving to the writing cabin.\u00a0 Stresses, demands, uncertainties, broken appointments, and hurtful words followed by icy withdrawal \u2013 all of these were wrapped up in a single sunny day.\u00a0 A word that might describe my reaction to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,1],"tags":[23,23362,23366],"class_list":["post-1604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-rule-of-life","category-uncategorized","tag-calling","tag-intimacy","tag-rule-of-life"],"yoast_head":"\nStorms, foundations, rebuilding....<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Wise man Built His House upon the Rock...\u00a0 It\u2019s the end of a bad day and I\u2019m driving to the writing cabin.\u00a0 Stresses, 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