How to Build a Faith That Stands When Everything Shakes

Devotional

Day 1: Build Your Life on the Rock of Jesus

Building your life on Jesus means not just hearing His words, but putting them into practice, making Him the foundation that holds you steady when storms come. When you choose to live out what Jesus teaches, you are like the wise builder whose house stands firm, no matter how fierce the rain, wind, or flood. The storms of life are inevitable, but a life anchored in Christ will not collapse under their weight. Jesus invites you to examine what you are building your life upon—temporary pleasures or the enduring rock of His presence and truth. Today, consider what it means to truly build on Him, brick by brick, act by act, trusting that He is the only foundation that will last. [07:40]

Matthew 7:24-25 (ESV)
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.”

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you need to move from just hearing Jesus’ words to actually putting them into practice today?

Day 2: Storms Reveal Our Foundation

The storms of life—disappointment, loss, temptation, uncertainty—are not just possible, they are promised, and they test what our lives are truly built upon. These storms do not create weakness; they reveal it, exposing whether our trust is in Jesus or in ourselves. Sometimes the consequences we face are from our own choices, and sometimes from the actions of others, but in every case, the rising waters show us where our foundation lies. When the floods come, you have the opportunity to see what is real in you and to rebuild, if needed, on the solid ground of Christ. Let the storms drive you to depend on Jesus, not your own strength, and allow Him to be your refuge and your rest. [20:26]

Matthew 7:26-27 (ESV)
“And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

Reflection: When you face a storm or challenge, where do you instinctively turn for security and strength—and how can you intentionally turn to Jesus as your foundation today?

Day 3: Jesus Stands in the Flood for Us

Jesus not only teaches us to build on the rock—He Himself faced the ultimate flood of suffering, sin, and death, and emerged victorious so that we could stand firm in Him. On the rock of Golgotha, Jesus gave His life, enduring the flood of humanity’s brokenness, so that our salvation would be secure and our foundation unshakable. His resurrection is the proof that the house built on the rock withstands even the greatest storm. Because of His faithfulness, you don’t have to build perfectly; you are called to build faithfully, trusting that His grace covers your failures and His strength is enough for every weakness. [28:08]

1 Corinthians 3:11 (ESV)
“For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

Reflection: In what specific way can you rest in Jesus’ finished work for you today, rather than striving to build your life perfectly on your own?

Day 4: Rebuild Daily—No Shame, Only Grace

Building on Jesus is not about never failing, but about returning to Him again and again, rebuilding with better materials each time, and letting His grace cover your past. When you falter or fall, you are invited to repent, turn back to God, and start building anew on the rock, free from shame and regret. Each day is a fresh opportunity to partner with Jesus, to ask what you are building together, and to let His Spirit guide your hands as you construct a life that stands. The wise builder keeps going, one obedient act at a time, trusting that God is more interested in your present and future with Him than in your past mistakes. [32:52]

Philippians 3:13-14 (ESV)
“Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Reflection: Is there a place in your life where you’ve been stuck in regret or shame? How can you take one step today to rebuild with Jesus, trusting His grace?

Day 5: Invite Jesus Into Every Moment

Building a life that stands means inviting Jesus into every conversation, every conflict, and every circumstance, asking Him what He is doing and how He wants to use you right now. Instead of reacting to the storms or being distracted by the pull of the sand, you can start each day in God’s Word, meditate on His truth, and seek His presence in the ordinary moments. When you do this, you take the power back from your circumstances and place it in the hands of Jesus, allowing Him to reign over your life and fill your home with His Spirit. Every rising water is a chance to declare God’s holiness and to trust that He is bringing heaven to earth, even when you cannot see it. [31:22]

Colossians 3:17 (ESV)
“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Reflection: As you go through your day, what is one ordinary moment or conversation where you can pause and invite Jesus to guide your response or attitude?

Sermon Summary

Today marks the conclusion of our journey through the Sermon on the Mount, and we arrive at Jesus’ final, powerful teaching: the call to build our lives on a foundation that will stand. Using the vivid image of houses built on rock and sand, Jesus invites us to consider not just what we are building, but what we are building upon. The difference between a life that stands and a life that collapses is not in the beauty or effort of the construction, but in the foundation—whether it is Jesus himself or something fleeting and unstable.

We are all builders, whether we realize it or not. Every day, with every choice, we are constructing our character, our relationships, our faith, and our future. The storms of life—disappointment, loss, temptation, uncertainty—are not hypothetical; they are promised. Jesus doesn’t say “if” the storms come, but “when.” These storms reveal, rather than create, the true strength of our foundation. When we build on Jesus—by not only hearing his words but putting them into practice—we find a stability that endures even the fiercest floods.

This is not a call to perfection, but to faithfulness. We will falter, we will fail, but the invitation is to keep building, to keep returning to Jesus, to keep asking, “What are we building together today?” The foundation is not laid once and for all; it is established daily, in every moment, as we meditate on his words, repent when we fall, and rebuild when we falter. The grace of Jesus is sufficient for every failure, and his resurrection power is the rock beneath our feet.

Jesus himself faced the ultimate flood—sin, death, and the violence of Rome—and emerged victorious, making it possible for us to stand firm. Our security, our rest, our refuge is not in our own strength, but in the unshakable foundation of Christ. Every storm is an opportunity to rebuild with better materials, to return to his words, and to let his love and Spirit fill our homes. The challenge is simple but profound: build a life that stands by building it on Jesus, one step, one act of obedience, one day at a time.

Key Takeaways

1. Foundation Revealed in the Storm The storms of life are inevitable and serve to reveal, not create, the true nature of our foundation. When adversity comes, it exposes where we have placed our trust—whether in Christ or in ourselves. This is a call to examine what lies beneath the surface of our lives and to intentionally build on the rock that will not be moved. [20:26]
2. Building is a Daily, Collaborative Process We are not called to build perfectly, but to build faithfully, one step at a time, in partnership with Jesus. Each day is an opportunity to meditate on his words, to ask what we are building together, and to let his Spirit guide our hands. The process is ongoing, and grace covers our failures as we keep returning to him. [29:03]
3. Repentance and Rebuilding are Essential When we fail or falter, the response is not condemnation but repentance and rebuilding. Turning back to Jesus, we find a loving Father who welcomes us and invites us to start again. Every failure is a chance to lay a stronger foundation, to learn, and to grow in faithfulness. [32:39]
4. Security and Rest are Found in Christ Alone Our true home—our place of safety, rest, and restoration—is found in Jesus, not in our own control, comfort, or achievements. When his words shape our choices and his Spirit fills our lives, we can withstand any storm, knowing that our security is anchored in the unchanging rock of Christ. [34:15]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[05:41] - What Does Faith That Works Look Like?
[06:15] - Childhood Memories and Sandcastles
[07:35] - Jesus’ Teaching: Building on the Rock
[08:46] - The Wise and Foolish Builders
[10:08] - The Importance of Foundation
[11:25] - Consequences: Entering or Missing the Kingdom
[12:36] - Judgment and Everyday Life
[13:45] - Building Together with Jesus
[15:05] - Historical and Personal Warnings
[16:38] - The Storms of Life Are Coming
[17:59] - Floods as Consequences and God’s Justice
[20:26] - Storms Reveal Our Foundation
[23:23] - The Pull of the Sand
[24:24] - Knowing the Path, Wandering Off
[25:31] - Depending on Jesus Daily
[26:40] - Declaring God’s Holiness in Every Circumstance
[27:43] - Jesus, the Ultimate Foundation
[29:34] - Keep Building, One Step at a Time
[31:03] - Daily Practices for Building with Jesus
[32:39] - Repentance, Rebuilding, and Remembering
[33:53] - Where Do You Find Your Security?
[34:47] - When His Spirit Fills Your Home
[35:08] - Challenge: Build on Jesus
[35:21] - Closing Prayer

Sermon Clips

And so for Jesus, it's not looking back and living in that shame or guilt, right? And it's not about what you've done or haven't done. It's about moving forward, right? Building a life with Jesus as our firm foundation, the rock on which we build everything, the one that gives us stability, right? The one that holds us firm, no matter what's happening around us in the midst of the storms. [00:14:55] (21 seconds) #TrustInJesus

The point is, the rains are always going to come, and sometimes it floods, and sometimes the floods are pretty severe, right? And the floodwaters, what they do is they actually test the foundation of our lives. As though floodwaters rise up, as it rains down and the floods come up, it tests the foundation that we're built upon, right? They reveal what's real in us. Like storms don't create weakness, right? Storms don't create weakness. They reveal it. [00:20:05] (29 seconds) #DependOnHimDaily

In the same way, hearing the words of Jesus without doing the words of Jesus, that leaves us with a house that looks fine. It looks good. It looks nice. It looks beautiful, in fact. But it's got no foundation. So it looks great until the rains come. It looks great until the storm flood hits and the sand below it starts to give way. So without Jesus' strength, what we build won't last, right? It won't keep. It won't last forever. [00:25:01] (31 seconds) #BuildFaithfully

That's why the gospel is not just about learning Jesus' words. It's about depending on him every single day, right? Working with him, studying him, learning all about this thing, this life of the kingdom of God so that we can live it out. And Jesus is offering us the opportunity to not just react to the storm, but to build a strong foundation day by day with him, moment by moment with him, so that when the storm comes, we're ready. [00:25:32] (29 seconds) #KeepBuilding

Because one of the greatest realities of Jesus is that he doesn't just tell us what to do. He lived it. Think about it, right? Think about Jesus' life. Think about all that he faced and all that he encountered. He faced the ultimate flood, right? He faced the ultimate flood of Rome's violence. The flood of all of humanity's sin weighing upon him. The flood of death itself, right? The Bible Project notes that Jesus actually becomes the first one whose house on the rock withstands the flood. [00:27:34] (34 seconds) #StartWithTheWord

He goes into the flood of death and out the other side to the empty tomb on behalf of us all, on behalf of you and me, right? The hill was called Golgotha. It's the rock of the skull. It literally looks like a skull shape. And on that rock is where Jesus gave his life for us, right? It became the firm foundation of actually our salvation. Jesus stood in the flood so that you and I could stand on him, right? He engaged in the flood of death so that you and I, right now, we could stand on him for our strength, amen? [00:28:08] (36 seconds) #BuildTogether

And then when you fail, right? Like when you fail, when you mess up, when there is some sin that you're wrestling with that's going on in your life, when there's some kind of sin that's contributing to the storm around you, you repent, right? You give everything to God, but when you fail, you repent. You turn away from the sin. You rebuke it in the name of Jesus and you turn back to a loving father who is welcoming you home. You walk back to the person of Jesus who is the way, the truth, and the life, right? He's the one that gets you through all of it. [00:32:08] (31 seconds)

So when you fail, you repent. And when you falter, you rebuild, right? When you mess up, when you falter, you actually rebuild on the rock, right? You don't condemn yourself, right? You don't carry the guilt and the shame. You rebuild. You go back to the beginning and you rebuild with Jesus. And finally, when you fear the unknown of tomorrow, you remember your firm foundation for today. [00:32:39] (24 seconds)

Every life, every one of us, your life and my life is gonna have storms that hit. You can see them coming, right? They're out in the Atlantic and they're coming towards the shore, right? Every heart will be tested, yours and mine. And so the question is not whether or not the flood's gonna come. It's gonna come. The question really becomes on what foundation have you built your home when it does? [00:33:04] (27 seconds)

``And so when Jesus speaks of houses built on rock or sand, he's asking, where do you find your security? Where do you go for your strength? Where do you go for your rest, right? Where do you retreat to when the life, when the very ground itself starts to shake around you? Do you retreat to your control, your sense of need for control? Do you retreat to your comfort, your career? Do you retreat to approval? Or are we building our lives on the solid rock of Christ? [00:33:46] (30 seconds)

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