Luke 6:48 
48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock . 

— DAILY READING 1 Corinthians 5; 1 Kings 18; Amos 2:1-3:2
On January 12, 2010, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake, hit the nation of Haiti. The earthquake caused major damage in Port-au-Prince, and other cities in the region. Notable landmark buildings were damaged or destroyed, including the Presidential Palace, the National Assembly building, the Port-au-Prince Cathedral, and the main jail. 

One of the reasons why there was so much damage, was due to the poor strength of buildings in Haiti. So many were killed because these buildings were poorly constructed.

This poor quality of the buildings, was traceable to the grinding poverty in the country. Haiti, at that time, was the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, with sixty per cent of its ten million citizens living in poverty. This situation, led to people building anyhow, with whatever material they could afford. Moreover, the country had no national building code, so most buildings were not built to engineering standards. Structures were built on slopes without proper foundations or containment structures, using improper building practices, and insufficient steel. Thus when the earthquake struck, these buildings were hopelessly fragile in the grip of such a strong quake. 

In contrast, after the March 2011 earthquake that hit Japan, many buildings in the country survived. Though it was a large magnitude earthquake, many buildings were not destroyed due to the nation’s stringent building codes and advanced structural engineering. This ensured deep foundation and massive shock absorbers that prevented the energy produced by the earthquake from tearing many buildings apart. 

In Haiti, many houses toppled in the earthquake, because they were poorly constructed on weak foundations. 

In Mathew 7: 24 Jesus says ‘Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house;  and it fell not:  for it was founded upon a rock.’

You can’t build a great building on a weak foundation. You must have a solid foundation if you’re going to have a strong superstructure. So it is with our lives. We cannot be thinking of rising to great heights in the eagle’s flight, without first laying a strong, and deep foundation in The Word of God. Supporting any truly great life must be a solid foundation.

In Mathew 7: 24 , the man that built his foundation on the rock, paid the price of digging deep. While the man that built on the sand did not bother to go the extra mile. 

For our lives to be truly unshakable, we must pay the price of building a strong foundation on The Word of God. The depth of your foundation in the Word of God will ensure you are not torn apart when storms strike. The stream, rain, wind, in the parable of Jesus represents the storms of life. Life is full of such storms. Troubles and challenges will often come unexpectedly to test our foundations.  A man will stand or fall based on his depth in The Word of God.  

Often people seem more occupied with building great heights of business or career, while their spiritual foundation remains shallow. They pursue success, wealth and the good life, without first ensuring their spiritual depth. Success attracts enemies. After building a great success, all that, can suddenly be sent toppling by one spiritual attack. Their tall house falls because there was no spiritual strength built from the Word of God to resist and overcome evil attacks. One misfortune, one sickness can wipe out everything a man has spent all his lifetime laboring to build. This is why Jesus asked ‘what does it profit a man to gain the world and yet lose his own soul?’  It is our spiritual depths that sustain the heights we attain. And if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? Spiritually, the deeper and stronger your foundation, the higher you can go in life. Therefore we must strive to build on a strong foundation.  To be victorious over every challenge, we must build our lives upon the strong foundation of The Word of God. So  that  no matter how we are shaken, we will never fall.

PRAYER:  Lord, please help me to always seek first Your kingdom. Please, enable me to build my life upon the solid foundation of Your Word, so that no matter what comes my way, I will never fall in Jesus Name. .

 QUOTE 

Nothing liberates like truth, the truth you know and act upon will make you free. – WORDBITE 222.  

 [ADAPTED FROM THE BOOK FAITH CLASSICS]