When is the best time to build your Kingdom life?
Created in the likeness of God, people have thoughts and emotions, and these are parts of the whole that build our lives. Everyone builds a life. However, not everyone considers how and on what they are building.
The best time to build your Kingdom life is during periods of stillness when no storms are blowing. It’s a wise investment of time.
Wise and Foolish Builders
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash” (NIV, Matthew 7:24-27).
What You Can’t Do During a Storm
Storms come in many forms. Some are personal. Others are corporate, such as political trouble, earthquakes, hurricanes, etc.
One thing is for certain: During storm season, you don’t do much building. There’s not much else to do except hold on to the Lord and ride out the storm with what has been built. After storm season reveals the cracks, those who are wise rebuild right away.
Storms Reveal Cracks in the Foundation
Over twenty years ago, my family and I went through a “storm season.” It was extremely destabilizing, and though I believed we were building on the Rock, the storms revealed many cracks in the foundation, places which were built on sand. From that time forward, I dug in with the Lord to make sure that the foundation of our lives were well established on the Rock.
A Recent Storm
This past year, my family and I encountered an unexpected health storm. A sudden, urgent health crisis arose.
We experienced the Lord directing our steps to the exact right medical and holistic healthcare personnel who cared for our needs at that particular moment. The Lord led us to each “next right step,” and He met all our needs.
His Kingdom First
Walking through this storm, I found myself on the phone with many in the insurance field. More hours were invested into completing forms to satisfy their system. On no day is this fun, but it’s especially tough when you’re caregiving for a loved one who’s ill, as so many people have had to face.
In the midst of this, the Lord reminded me of Matthew 6:33. He prompted me to pray for the people I spoke with and those who would be receiving and reviewing the papers—and their families. There, I prayed for His kingdom to be on earth and in their lives as it is in Heaven, and that none of them would leave this earth without Him. He prompted me to pray for their peace.
“Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you,” (KJV, Matthew 6:33).
Father Does It!
I cannot say that these prayers caused all the paperwork to work and our needs to be met through those people in those systems—because it did not.
What I can say is that the Lord made it very clear to me–and sealed it with His peace–that the specific prayers for those specific people, who I would ordinarily never interact with, would endure long after this storm ended.
Father did meet our needs. Our needs were not met through the healthcare, insurance, and medical systems but through Heavenly Father and the people He gathered to help us through the storm.
Dear friends, storms come. Build your Kingdom life on the Rock by intentionally filling up with His Word and His Spirit when it’s not storm season. This investment of your time will pay off now and later. His Word and His Spirit help you choose with intention the thoughts and emotions you’re building your life with. Those thousands of daily choices add up to a solid relationship with Father, Son, and Spirit. He keeps you in His peace should you face a storm.
In storm season or out, He keeps His Word to meet our needs. Look for ways to go after, or to bring in by prayer and/or action, His Kingdom (right-ness, peace, and joy) first. Your Heavenly Father keeps His word to meet your needs.
The peace and confidence this assurance brings is true wealth. It is even more so in times of instability such as these.
“He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure” (NIV, Isaiah 33:6).
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Hope Streams
Featured Image by Max LaRochelle on Unsplash
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