I hate to say it but, “Good times don’t always last.” One should live and enjoy happy times, but not forget to keep in your heart to be prepare for hard times. What do I mean by that? Think right now the worst thing that could ever happen to you… How would you handle it? The worst thing ever imagined could have already happened to you… How did you handle it? The worst thing that I could think of is if someone mercilessly murdered a child of mine. A close second would be telling my children their father is dead and won’t be coming back home. These are things that could actually happen and could be my reality one day. How would I react? There are a couple ways to react. I could praise God in spite of what has happened, and through my actions continue to live by faith, forgiveness, and love, or I can react with my fleshly emotions, and blame God, lose my faith, hate everyone, and become bitter.

I look at brother Job and I believe the worst things that he could have ever imagined did happen to him. But oh, how I love brother Job and his wonderful example of how to stay anchored to God despite the storms of life! I believe the worst things happened to his wife also; however, look at the different reactions. Job built his house on the Rock versus his wife building hers on the sand. There is a clear difference between Job and his wife and their responses to the storms of life. (See Job chapter 2, verses 9-10)

Take into consideration what Matthew 7:24-27 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. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.” (KJV)

I don’t know if you have ever experienced a mighty storm, but they are scary, and if you are not prepared, or if your foundation is not solid, you will be in for a mighty bad time. I have experienced the hurricanes of Miami, Florida and one thing we always wanted to be sure of was surviving the storm. We did not wait until the storm arrived to go out and prepare; we prepared days before the storm came. This is the same way with life. Get a rock solid foundation now, before the storms of life come. Even if you are building your foundation on the Rock, it still is not easy to deal with difficult times. How much more difficult it would be if you build your foundation on sand!

Jesus gives us the formula to getting a rock solid foundation. He tells us to hear His sayings, and then do them. Here are some of His sayings:

1. Pray and Watch – Psalm 5:3; Ephesians 6:18
2. Be diligent and study that you may accurately handle God’s word – 2 Timothy 2:15
3. Meditate on God’s Word – Psalm 1:2
4. Fellowship and build bonds with brothers and sisters in the Lord – Acts 2:42
5. Don’t just read about God’s Word, but do it – James 1:22

If you refuse to listen to God now, and to prepare for the storms of life, you will be setting yourself up for loss. The devil wants you to put into your heart that “Life is grand and nothing bad can ever happen to me, so why worry about God’s sayings?” The devil has been fooling people since the beginning of time. Don’t let him fool you. He is a liar; the truth is not in him. Remember we will always win if we cling to Christ. I will leave you with the following passage of encouragement:

“But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, and will be secure without fear of evil.” Proverbs 1:33

By Nedra Rodriguez
Nedra Rodriguez is married to Angel, her best friend and husband of 11 years. Nedra is a stay at home, homeschooling mom to their four children. Angel and Nedra enjoy evangelism and inviting people to their home for personal Bible studies and fellowship. They attend the Westside Church of Christ in Midland, Texas.